Schools around the country have been receiving threats from a “Russian Terrorist Organization” about bombs being placed across American schools. Last Friday, the threat was emailed to many northern Texas school districts, claiming that explosives were planted in public campuses out of pity for the United States’ support for Ukraine in the ongoing war against Russia.
The bombs, which were set to go off at 1 pm, never happened, and local authorities claimed the sources as not credible. The FBI later became involved, and is actively investigating the situation.
If that wasn’t enough, another email was sent to schools across Ohio over the weekend, seemingly from the same Russian terrorist group from before. This time, they stressed that although their “previous attempt had failed,” it would not happen again. Explosives had been planted in numerous schools around the area, and were set to “go off at 2 pm.”
This type of crime, where people make false accusations against a group of people’s lives is called “Swatting”. This could be a bomb threat to a business, person, or organization of people. These activities can also branch out into other illegal actions, such as hate crimes.
According to WLWT, 52 schools across Ohio received these threats from the “Russian Terrorists.” Notable districts that received this message include Lakota, Princeton, Middletown, Edgewood, Hamilton, and Sycamore School Districts.
The FBI held a public briefing on Monday, acknowledging that they are “aware of an e-mail message circulating in Ohio regarding threats to school buildings…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.”
They later went on to reinforce school safety, asking public schools to remain wary and report any suspicious activities to local authorities.
Earlier this year, on October 16th, 2023, numerous southern California school districts received threatening emails, leading to many cancellations in classes. Many schools were evacuated and would resume their work the next day.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said it was aware of the threats and planned on conducting “patrol checks at local schools throughout the day.”
