Miami and Dallas school officials said federal, state and local law enforcement agencies were notified, and extra security was deployed to schools Thursday.
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“The Houston Independent School District…received a threat of violence similar to those received this week by school districts across the nation including Los Angeles, New York and Miami”. Los Angeles chose to close all of its schools this week after a violent threat was made there.
“We can’t be scared all the time so it is what it is”, said Albert Shehab. “We should not disrupt our normal pattern, activities and way of life in Broward County when we don’t see any credible threats that come in”. A regular school day is expected today and tomorrow.
The Indiana threats appeared to be different from the hoax emails sent to the larger school districts elsewhere in the country, Danville Community School Corporation Superintendent Tracy Shafer told Reuters.
In a National School Safety and Security Services study based on media reports released in February, the group found school threats had increased by 158% from August to December 2014 compared with the year before.
Plainfield schools were closed Thursday following an online threat Wednesday night.
Danville Community School Corporation canceled classes following alleged threats, including threats from two students who’ve been arrested.
In light of recent school shootings nationwide, school district officials agree that they have a significant responsibility when handling threats made to school districts.
The Franklin Community Schools south of Indianapolis issued a statement saying it canceled Friday classes after receiving a “serious” threat and consulting with police.
At a press conference Thursday, HISD Police Chief Robert Mock said the e-mail went to the district’s superintendent and others, but it did not originate from the Houston area.
He also tweeted out a picture suggesting that there is a greater presence of police and vigilance at Miami-Dade Schools.
The writer of the email claimed to be a high school senior who was bullied and had an army of supporters with pressure cooker bombs, assault rifles and pistols.
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The statement, in Spanish and English, on the district’s website said that the district had been emailed the text of the same or a similar threat made against LAUSD schools, but that law enforcement officials deemed it not credible. Trump says evacuations can actually make things worse because kids are often safer in schools where there’s more adult supervision.
