“Based on the information that we have, this was a very generic piece of writing sent to a number of different places simultaneously and also written in a fashion that suggests that it’s not plausible, and we’ve come to the conclusion that we must continue to keep our school systems open”, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said.
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“The preliminary assessments is that it was a hoax or something created to disrupt school districts in large cities”, said Adam Schiff, the ranking Democrat on the House select committee in a statement after a briefing.
A gate to Birmingham Community Charter High School is locked with a sign stating that school is closed, Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2015, in Van Nuys, Calif. All schools in the vast Los Angeles Unified School District, the nation’s sec…
The nation’s second-largest school district shut down Tuesday after a school board member received an emailed threat that raised fe…
The threat was also made to New York City – which dismissed the warning as an amateurish hoax.
“There was nothing credible about the threat”.
“I’m not going to take the chance with the life of a student”, said Cortines, who runs the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD).
“As we’ve become better at preventing complex multi-faceted attacks like 911, terrorists turn to less complicated acts of violence like the mass shootings that are all too common in our society”, Obama said on October 6.
The LAUSD said on Twitter that classes and after-school activities would resume Wednesday, adding: “When it comes to the well-being of our children, we will never take chances”.
But Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti told reporters later Tuesday: “We can now announce the Federal Bureau of Investigation has determined this was not a credible threat”.
NY police commissioner William Bratton agreed, quipping that it looked like the sender of the threat had watched a lot of the Showtime cable TV terrorism drama Homeland.
LA officials defended the move, with the city’s police chief condemning the criticism as “irresponsible”.
The threatening 360-word email, seen by the Associated Press news agency, was sent to the New York City school superintendent and warned that schools would be attacked with pressure cooker bombs, nerve agents and machine guns.
Pupils “at every school in the New York City school district will be massacred, mercilessly”. Marcy’s last message for parents is if you’re feeling helpless and anxious yourself, it’s important to reach out and get some help because she said children can pick up on these feelings and they’ll starting feeling that way as well.
Mr Cortines said the district police chief informed him about the threat shortly after 5am. At around the same time, the decision to close Los Angeles schools was announced.
School districts in Northern California feel the same way.
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“Los Angeles doesn’t have that same kind of experience”, he said. “I felt afraid, I felt angry, and my first goal was to make sure my children were calm”, Marcy said.
