Wadsworth City Schools received a threat via email earlier this morning. Although the threat was vague, the email still matched with a statement made by the FBI. Recently, many school districts across Ohio have received threatening emails.
“This morning, we discovered a swatting email in a spam folder,” wrote Steve Moore, Wadsworth City Schools Assistant Superintendent.
Moore explained how the email aligned with the FBI’s statement regarding swatting in school districts and said the email was turned over to the Wadsworth Police Department.
Moore described the statement to be general in nature and was deemed not an actual threat.
“As always, we will continue to work closely with the Wadsworth Police Department to ensure that the safety of our students and employees remains our top priority,” Moore wrote.
Swatting is the act of making untrue threats or deceiving an emergency to law enforcement. Swatting can be something like making a false bomb threat, prank calling 911, or sending threatening emails.
Even Wooster City Schools has released a statement talking about the threatening email they received.
“This afternoon, school districts across the state of Ohio, including Wooster, received an email message threatening school buildings from an account claiming to be a Russian terrorist. On Friday [December 8], school districts in Texas received a very similar message,” wrote Gabe Tudor, Wooster Superintendent.
Medina City School’s Superintendent has also made a statement regarding the emails going around.
“I am writing to address the concerning reports that several schools in Medina County and across Ohio have received bomb threats via email from an unidentified source claiming to be a Russian terrorist organization. As of now, the Medina City School District has not directly received any such emails. I want to assure you that our students and staff’s safety and security remain our top priority,” wrote Aaron Sable, Superintendent of Medina City Schools. “At this time, the legitimacy of these emails remains unclear. Out of an abundance of caution, we are taking steps to reinforce our safety protocols and procedures. I want to stress the District has not received any direct threats, but we remain prepared to respond swiftly to ensure schools remain safe places for teaching and learning.”
The FBI urges the public to report any suspicious activity to law enforcement immediately.
“The FBI is aware of the bomb threats directed at area schools. At this time, there is no evidence to suggest these to be credible,” wrote Susan Licate, Public Affairs Officer at FBI Cleveland.
