A 37-year-old former Meridian man was arrested in Flowood early Wednesday morning in connection with a bomb threat made Tuesday against Meridian Public School District’s George Washington Carver Elementary School.

Kelvin Nix, who moved to Flowood three or four years ago, was arrested by authorities with MPSD Campus Police, the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation and Homeland Security and charged with making a terroristic threat to Carver Elementary. He was transported to the Lauderdale County Detention Facility, where he remained Wednesday afternoon on a $100,000 bond.

“Last night, we issued a search warrant for his residency, which he was not home. We later found him at a local hospital in Flowood. After he was discharged from the hospital, he was properly served with his arrest warrant and transported back to the Lauderdale County Detention Center around 2:38 a.m.,” Campus Police Chief Cornelius Parks said during a press conference at MPSD’s central administrative office.

At the time of his arrest, authorities were unclear of the reason for the bomb threat, Parks said, but “it was later determined that the individual had dated an employee of the school and that was the reason that particular school was targeted.”

To his understanding, Parks said Nix had sought treatment at the hospital for a previous injury he had received, but did know law enforcement was searching for him.

The bomb threat, which lasted about 15 seconds, came in on the general school office phone line Tuesday around 11:28 a.m. with the caller making a threat advising there was a bomb in the building, Parks said. School administrators immediately began following procedures outlined in the district’s crisis plan.

“During that procedure, we was advised to evacuate the building and also have a bomb dog, cadaver dog, to come in and search the building; make sure that the threat was not credible,” Parks said.

He said the Mississippi Highway Patrol brought a K9 dog trained to detect explosives from Neshoba County to assist with the search of the school, which took a little time.

“To our blessing, it was not a credible threat,” Parks said. “However, we had to take the necessary steps to ensure the safety of all staff and students.”

The district’s transportation department quickly found bus drivers to come in and transport Carver’s students to the nearby Boys and Girls Club, where parents were able to pick up their children, said Matt Davis, the district’s public relations director.

“We would just like to extend our gratitude to our staff and our parents, as well as the staff at the Boys and Girls Club for their support yesterday,” said Carver Principal Amanda Shadwick. “We could not have done it without you. Their quick action and their patience with us helped to make sure that we ensured the safety of our students remained the priority yesterday.”

MPSD Superintendent Amy Carter said the school and district regularly review and update emergency procedures to ensure students, staff and faculty are prepared to respond effectively in such situations. Carver had just conducted the first of its twice annual, state-mandated intruder drills on Monday.

In a letter sent to parents Tuesday, Carter said, “As soon as we became aware of the threat, we followed our emergency protocols, which included immediate notification to MPSD Campus Police, Meridian PD, Meridian Fire Dept., Homeland Security, MS Bureau of Investigation, and the FBI field office in Jackson, which led to a full evacuation of the school. These agencies thoroughly searched the premises and determined that there was no danger.”

Carver isn’t the only school in Mississippi that has had to deal with a bomb threat less than four weeks into the school year.

On Monday, East Tate Elementary School and Independence High School in Coldwater in north Mississippi were both closed following a reported bomb threat.

Parks thanked the many law enforcement agencies and fire department for their assistance.

“This was a collaborative effort amongst many agencies but I do want to give the most credit to Homeland Security with their technologies and their capabilities of helping us track callers who call in these types of threats,” Parks said. “Now I will say this, this threat was called in from a blocked number. I want to reassure the prankster who wants to do future attempts, we can locate you, we can determine which number you are calling from, so I would strictly advise against it in the near future if you want to have a copycat crime of this nature.”