Ohio Schools on Alert: Serial Bomb Threats Spread Panic

By Dhivya Easwarasamy On Dec 12, 2023

Ohio Schools on Alert Serial Bomb Threats Spread Panic

On Monday, several schools in Northwest Ohio tightened their security because of online bomb threats. It turned out that those threats were not real.

Brenna Nye of 13 Action News talked to the director of Perrysburg Local Schools and the chief of police of Lake Township. Both said that there were more police at the schools on Monday.

On Sunday, several schools in Northwest Ohio got a bomb threat email from an account that said it was from a Russian group that was targeting American schools.

Multiple schools in Northwest Ohio increased security Monday because of emailed bomb threats. Those threats were found to be not credible:

Multiple schools in Northwest Ohio increased security Monday because of emailed bomb threats. Those threats were found to be not credible. https://t.co/5WB3tNPt82
— 13 Action News (@13abc) December 12, 2023

The emails were part of a swatting operation, and investigators decided they were not real. Even though the threats aren’t real, it’s still a good idea to be safe.

Mark Hummer, head of police in Lake Township, said, “They really believed it was a non-credible threat and a hoax, but when it comes to the safety of our children, I don’t think we can just dismiss it right off the bat,”

One of the schools that got threats was Lake High School. Nye was told by Hummer that it’s always better to be safe than sorry, even if a threat seems fake.

“Just really not only for the safety, but for the peace of mind. We don’t want our parents scared to death to send their kids to school. We don’t want the kids scared. So the police are there and makes it a little safer,” Hummer said.

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The email was also sent to the Perrysburg area.

“There was added attentiveness to the schools today, and certainly anytime anything like that happens, you need to take it seriously. You need to take it to that next level of awareness and I think we’ve done that well here,” superintendent of Perrysburg Schools, Tom Hosler said.

Hosler said that parents were sent a notice on Sunday night, and that cops were present all day Monday.

“You can think all the things you want, but you just don’t know. So it goes back to that kind of expression, ‘Trust but verify.’ You trust that this is a hoax and you think it is, but you need to verify that that is in fact what it is,” Hosler said.
“We’ve got to do everything we can. We always ask everybody, ever since 9/11, if you see something that looks suspicious, call us. We’ll check it. Nothing is a silly call to us if it makes you uncomfortable,” Hummer said.

The bomb threats are being looked into by the FBI. They said in a statement on Monday that they are aware of the “hoax incidents” and are taking the threats very seriously. The police want you to report any suspicious behavior or person right away to the police in your area.