BAY MINETTE — Baldwin County High School was evacuated just minutes after classes started Monday morning following a bomb threat called into the school.

According to School Resource Officer Ricky Colburn, the call came in at 8:03 a.m. and was answered by a receptionist. The receptionist alerted Principal John Cabaniss who then alerted Colburn.

"I made contact with my supervisors, the fire department and EMS," Colburn said. He said the evacuation was a smooth one and students and faculty did what was needed to be done.

"I think it went very well. Law enforcement responded immediately and the fire department was right behind them," he said. He said EMS was on standby in the event of an injury.

"The students went out orderly and everything went smooth," he said.

Principal Johnny Cabaniss agreed. "Under the circumstances I think it went smoothly."

Cabaniss said the school has received similar threats in the past, as has most schools, and said most of the time they are false alarms.

"You get it at different schools, sometimes the seniors get out and call back up here. But whether it is a prank or not we have to treat it like the real thing," he said.

He said the school has procedures in place and everyone involved is trained for such an event.

"We try not to alarm anyone. The teachers are trained, the police are trained, fire, EMS - everyone knows what to do," he said. "I salute the faculty for the way they handled the situation."

One problem noted during the evacuation was that of students calling their parents about what was going on and parents coming to the school. Cabaniss and Colburn said that only adds to the risk.

"That is one of the reasons the (Baldwin County) school board, in its wisdom, said no cell phones," Cabaniss said. "In the absence of parents we are going to treat (students) like our own. The only thing parents can do at that time is hinder police, fire and other emergency workers. It adds risk of injury to the students who are outside and ties up traffic lanes."

Cabaniss said he understands the worry, but said parents need to trust school and law enforcement officials.

"I can understand parents having desires to check on their child, but we don't need to create a panic," he said.

A sweep of the school did not reveal anything unusual or suspicious, and at 9 a.m. the school was released from lockdown. Colburn said the call was made from a blocked number, but officers are following leads.

Sgt. Rodney Kircharr, who graduated from BCHS, said when he was a student the school performed bomb threat drills, but said he does not know if the school still does so.

Colburn said he has been planning an "active shooter" drill for this summer. He said the drill will primarily be for officers so that they know how to respond in the event a shooter or shooters is on campus, but will be open to school personnel so they can see how and what to do in the event of such an emergency.

He said the drill will include injuries and fatalities as well as other possible real-life situations.