The CIA confirmed that “explosive training material” was accidentally left aboard a school bus in Virginia following a K-9 training exercise last week.
Dozens of elementary and high school students in Loudoun County were aboard the bus traveling to and from school on Monday and Tuesday before the inert explosive was discovered, according to school officials.
Wayde Byard, the public information officer for Loudoun County Public Schools, said the principals for three schools (Rock Ridge High School, Buffalo Trail and Pinebrook Elementary) called the 26 affected students; the district sent an email in English and Spanish to more than 80,000 people to explain what happened.
Roughly a dozen parents from the community expressed concern, but the school district was not inundated with calls, he said.
“They have been very understanding. We live in an area with a lot of federal employees, a lot of Homeland Security employees,” Byard said in an interview with Yahoo News. “They are very aware of the world we live in and why this is necessary. Because we understand it, doesn’t mean we’re pleased with it. We’re not.”
