Several local schools on high alert
(WJW) – The FBI and Joint Terrorism Task Force are investigating after several local school districts were among more than 50 statewide to receive bomb threats. Officials determined there is no credibility to the threats made, but some schools are increasing security on Monday.
All of the schools affected in our area sent notices to their communities saying they received these threats via email Sunday. They have all been in contact with police and the FBI. Some had their schools swept and cleared on Sunday.
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All school is scheduled to go on Monday because officials say this appears to be a “swatting hoax situation.”
Among the schools in our area that received this threat are the Akron Public Schools, Parma City Schools, Twinsburg City Schools, Independence Local Schools, Riverside Local Schools, Amherst, and North Olmsted City Schools.
The FBI responded to FOX 8 Monday morning saying, “The FBI is aware of the numerous hoax incidents wherein a bomb threat at a school is made. The FBI takes hoax threats very seriously because it puts innocent people at risk. While we have no information to indicate a specific and credible threat, we will continue to work with our local, state, and federal law enforcement partners to gather, share, and act upon threat information as it comes to our attention. We urge the public to remain vigilant, and report any and all suspicious activity and/or individuals to law enforcement immediately.”
In Athens County, the Alexander Local Schools posted that they were among 52 Ohio schools to receive threats.
Parma City Schools sent out a notice to their district addressing the concerning email they received. It said in part:
“This email claims to be from a Russian terrorist organization, threatening violence with explosive devices at schools. Similar messages were received by school districts across Texas on Friday and law enforcement authorities deemed them to be not credible.”
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In North Olmsted’s statement, officials talked about their plans for Monday. It says in part:
“As a precaution, we will have extra police presence available at all of our schools tomorrow (Monday.) We will do a full safety sweep of all of our school buildings prior to school starting tomorrow (Monday.)”
Independence said they will also have increased police presence at their schools.
Many schools in the area are also watching this unfold. FOX 8 has seen notices from other school districts in the area that are alerting their communities of what’s going on even though they haven’t received threats.
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