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Dual bomb, gun threats cause police to surround Douglass High School in Columbia

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KMIZ
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KMIZ
Columbia police block part of Providence Road for an "active threat" on Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2026.

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A dual bomb and gun threat led police to surround Douglass High School on Tuesday morning.

Columbia police had initially said officers responded Tuesday morning to an "active threat" at Douglass High School. The Columbia Police Department later said in that officers didn't find anything.

Columbia Police Department officers were sent to the area a little after 10 a.m. By about 11:40 a.m., CPD had posted on social media that no threat was found.

Classes don't start until next week, so students were not in the building. CPD spokesman Colin Imhoff said officers cleared staff from the building.

The school was surrounded by police cruisers, and a police drone was flying overhead a little before 11 a.m. A reporter saw people being escorted out of the school before police dogs were taken inside. A bomb technician was also at the scene, the CPD release states.

Police had left the scene by noon.

A teacher told an ABC 17 News reporter that she saw police with rifles drawn outside the building.

Columbia Public Schools spokeswoman Michelle Baumstark confirmed that no students were in the building. Classes start next week across CPS.

Check back for updates to this developing story.

Article Topic Follows: Columbia

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Matthew Sanders

Matthew Sanders is the digital content director at ABC 17 News.

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