School Bomb Threat Suspect Apprehended

SHOWELL -- A Wicomico man suspected of making a bomb threat at Showell Elementary School last Thursday morning was located and arrested in Delaware the next day and now awaits extradition to Worcester County to face multiple charges.

Around 8:40 a.m. last Thursday, Maryland State Police were notified of a possible bomb threat at Showell Elementary. School officials were immediately notified of the situation and the administration and Board of Education members made the decision to immediately evacuate the roughly 550 students from pre-school to third grade, along with teachers and staff.

The Worcester County Bureau of Investigation (WCBI) responded along with Maryland State Police troopers and deputies from the Worcester County and Wicomico County Sheriff’s departments. Included in the response team was Wicomico County bomb detection dog “Gary” and his handler Deputy First-Class Jeff Heath.

A complete search of the interior and exterior of the school was conducted with nothing suspicious or threatening located. After a roughly two-hour search, the school was deemed safe and the students, teachers and staff returned to the building. A post-search investigation into the origin of the threat was conducted and based on a multi-jurisdictional search for evidence, law enforcement officials developed a suspect in Patrick Earl McCready, 23, of Mardela Springs.

According to a source, McCready had been involved in a domestic dispute with his estranged wife, the mother of a student at Showell, the night before and made a veiled threat to blow up a classroom at the facility. Last Friday, local law enforcement officials, with the help of the Delaware State Police, located McCready and he was taken into custody.

McCready was being held on local charges in Delaware and will be returned to Maryland upon completion of an extradition hearing. He faces numerous charges in Maryland including false statement-destructive device, arson threat and disturbing school operations through the Maryland State Police for last week’s incident. Charges against McCready are also pending in Worcester through the Sheriff’s Office including harassment and telephone misuse and violation of an ex parte order.

McCready also faces second-degree assault charges in Wicomico. In addition, McCready was arrested last June in Worcester Con second-degree assault charges, which were later put on the inactive docket. However, in light of last week’s alleged incident, the charges in that case were re-activated on Monday.