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Midtown High School Evacuated After Bomb Threat, Police Say

By Anton K. Nilsson | December 16, 2015 6:51pm
 The High School of Art and Design building is located on East 56th Street between Second and Third avenues.
The High School of Art and Design building is located on East 56th Street between Second and Third avenues.
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DNAinfo/Mary Johnson

MIDTOWN EAST — A Midtown high school was evacuated on Wednesday afternoon after receiving a bomb threat via email, police said.

The email was sent to the High School of Art and Design on Tuesday, threatening that there would be an explosion at the school the following day, according to police.

The high school, which is located at 245 E. 56th St., was evacuated around 5 p.m. on Wednesday while Emergency Service units searched the building, police said.

A spokesperson from the Department of Education told DNAinfo New York that police were notified of the threat immediately, and added that safety and security is a top priority.

The threatening email was received by the High School of Art and Design on the same day that 900 public schools in Los Angeles closed down over another bomb threat.

New York received the same message that caused the LA Unified School District to shut schools, police said on Tuesday, but unlike officials in California, the NYPD did not deem that threat credible.

Police Commissioner Bill Bratton, who previously oversaw the LA police department, drew criticism Tuesday from his Los Angeles counterparts for calling the shutdown an "overreaction."

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday at an exercise by the NYPD's new Strategic Response Group on Randall's Island, Bratton said he had been in "pretty much constant contact" with the LAPD since Tuesday, adding that "we need to be aware, but not be fearful."