Stink bombs force early school dismissal

Parkville High School was closed at noon yesterday after someone set off stink bombs in a boys' bathroom in the morning, school officials and Baltimore county police said.

After the stink bombs went off about 9:45 a.m., someone called several local television news stations to report "shots fired" or another emergency at the high school, police said. But there was no shooting at the school, said Bill Toohey, a county police spokesman.

"This was a malicious prank," Toohey said.

No arrests had been made as of yesterday afternoon, he said.

No one was injured, and there was no damage to the building, said Charles A. Herndon, a spokesman for the Baltimore County school system.