Student had a bong in his car, tipster said. Massachusetts police heard ‘bomb.’

If there’s a lesson to this story, it’s probably this: Enunciate when you’re talking to police.

A high school in Holliston, Massachusetts — not far from Boston — had a scary Friday morning when an anonymous tipster called police to report a suspicious item in the school’s parking lot, according to a Holliston Public Schools Facebook post.

The caller reported a “bong” in a student's car — but what police heard was “bomb,” the school said.

Police immediately called school leaders, and the high school’s parking lot was blocked off so authorities could investigate, the school said.

Meanwhile, police, fire and school officials worked together to figure out who the anonymous caller was — and who the student with the “bomb” was. School staff spoke to the tipster, who “emphatically and convincingly” told them the intent was to report the student for having a bong on school property, not a bomb, the school said.

The suspect accused of bringing a bong to school was taken out of class by fire and police officials, the school said. After rifling through the student’s backpack, locker and car — and searching the student — officials concluded there was no bomb, and that police had misheard what the tipster had said.

Finally, the school day went on as normal, police said.

“Better be safe than sorry,” one commenter wrote on the police department’s Facebook post about the incident. “Great job to all.”

Holliston police said charges aren’t expected in the case, but added that school disciplinary action is possible.

This story was originally published May 11, 2018 at 2:37 PM with the headline "Student had a bong in his car, tipster said. Massachusetts police heard ‘bomb.’."