SANDPOINT — Farmin Stidwell Elementary School was apparently caught in a wave of bomb threats targeting schools that swept the region and nation on Monday.

Farmin Stidwell received the threat — an automated call with a male’s voice — shortly after 12:20 p.m.

“In short, it mentioned there were explosives in the building and that he had a detonator. And if police showed up he would detonate the devices,” said Sandpoint Police Chief Corey Coon.

The school went into lock-down mode before being evacuated in an orderly fashion. Students and staff congregated on the school’s soccer field amid a steady drizzle after Sandpoint Police and Bonner County sheriff’s deputies established a perimeter. A thorough search followed.

“We did a room-to-room sweep looking for anything that was suspicious or out of place,” Coon said.

Nothing was found.

Authorities were unable to summon bomb squads due to a simultaneous threats that were unfolding in the Spokane area. USA Today reported that similar threats were received at schools across four times zones in the U.S. Similar calls were reported in California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Utah, Washington and Wisconsin.

Coon said the calls were basically meant to cause disruption, although it’s unclear if they were the work of tone-deaf pranksters or more sinister forces.

Monday’s threat was strikingly similar to a threat at Farmin Stidwell that was received on May 7, 2015. Coon said that an automated voice warned of pending gun violence at the school in that incident.

In both incidents, the calls could not be traced back to a source, he added.

Coon said he appreciated the patience and avoidance of panic by the public during the incident.

“We thank the community for their support, staying away and letting cops do their job,” said Coon.