Bomb threats delivered through social media — both of them false alarms — prompted educators Wednesday to evacuate more than 2,000 students from Woodland Hills and Gateway high schools.

The schools received the anonymous threats on Snapchat.

Just before noon, Woodland Hills Superintendent Daniel Castagna dismissed the Churchill-based regional high school’s roughly 950 students, to ensure that a cadre of police could do a “full sweep” of the Greensburg Pike school campus.

Administrators also dismissed more than 1,100 students from Gateway in Monroeville.

Gateway officials, who said they were compelled to take the threat seriously, eventually announced that it was a hoax.

In a note posted to the district’s website, Castagna said that he, like Gateway administrators, questioned the validity of the threat but made decisions out of an abundance of caution.

“We do not feel the threat is credible and we are investigating the source with all of our resources,” he wrote. “Once students are out of the building, we will conduct a full sweep of the building in coordination with the Churchill and county police.”

By 3 p.m., Woodland Hills officials texted district parents that they had “received the ‘all clear’ after the police and county K-9 swept the building.”

Monroeville police interviewed students and unsuccessfully attempted to identify the Snapchat user posting the messages, Chief Doug Cole told TribLive.

“We did all the things we could to take it as far as it could go,” Cole said. “It was a non-credible threat.”

Cole said bomb threats such as the ones reported Wednesday are rare, though one or two typically occur each school year.

In response to the threat, Castagna barred visitors from entering all Woodland Hills school campuses for the remainder of Wednesday. The elementary and middle schools continued instruction uninterrupted.

Castagna said he also increased police patrols at elementary school buildings and the district’s middle school.

Woodland Hills High School draws students from communities in 12 square miles of suburban land east of Pittsburgh’s Regent Square neighborhood, including Braddock, Braddock Hills, Chalfant, Churchill, East Pittsburgh, Edgewood, Forest Hills, North Braddock, Rankin, Swissvale, Turtle Creek and Wilkins.

Gateway School District serves students from Monroeville and Pitcairn.

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