Area school districts again targeted by threats

Joseph Kohut, The Times-Tribune, Scranton, Pa.
·2 min read

Oct. 13—Emailed threats disrupted life Friday in several school districts in Lackawanna and Luzerne Counties.

In Lackawanna County, the Scranton School District chose to "operate as normal" despite what it termed a "swatting email," the district said in a statement. Police Capt. Dennis Lukasewicz said the department added extra patrols to the schools.

An email that threatened schools within the Abington Heights School District came as students were already dismissing for the day, said Superintendent Christopher Shaffer, Ed.D.

An email the administration sent to district parents said they did not believe the threat is credible. Local police dispatched additional officers to each school as extra security during dismissal.

"The safety of out students, faculty, and staff remains our highest priority," wrote Assistant Superintendent Maggie Vitale, Ed.D., in an email. "We are functioning on a heightened alert and being extra vigilant in our schools."

North Pocono also received an emailed threat on Friday afternoon, after secondary schools had already dismissed. Other schools dismissed slightly earlier, according to a statement on the district website.

In Luzerne County, five districts — including Wilkes-Barre Area, Dallas, Crestwood and Lake-Lehman — were evacuated Friday because of hoax bomb threats.

The threats came nearly one month after a rash of fraudulent bomb threats Sept. 18 and 19 prompted a police response to eight school districts in Lackawanna and Luzerne counties.

Days after that wave, federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York announced 150 bomb threats made to schools and other public places in Pennsylvania across America stemmed from one man: a Peruvian national frustrated by teenage girls who would not send him nude photographs.

Eddie Manuel Nunez Santos, 33, of Lima, used an online alias to threaten girls who rejected his advances and threaten to blow up their schools, authorities said.

The threats were made between Sept. 15 and 21 and primarily targeted locations in Pennsylvania, New York, Connecticut, Arizona and Alaska.

Federal authorities have declined to specify which school districts in Pennsylvania he is accused of threatening.

The Citizens' Voice staff contributed to this report.

Contact the writer: jkohut@timesshamrock.com, 570-348-9100, x5187; @jkohutTT on Twitter.