 "Washington DC: Schools on lockdown as 191 bomb threat emails spark chaos")
Chaos and panic erupted in Washington, DC, on Thursday, as the city grappled with the aftermath of receiving hundreds of bomb threats over email, reported The Mirror.
A total of 191 emails were sent to prominent schools, prompting widespread lockdowns. The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) acted promptly, opening an inquiry into the threats that were emailed to various schools.
In a statement posted on X (formerly Twitter), the MPD assured the public that officers were working with DC Public and Charter schools to ensure the safety of students and staff. Despite having no evidence to corroborate the threats, law enforcement is actively investigating the origins of 191 threatening emails.
Benjamin Armbruster, a DC resident and Managing Editor of R Statecraft, stated that his child's elementary school, a public charter in the district, was included in an email chain addressed to a total of 191 persons.
"I just got a call from my kid's elementary school [a DC public charter] that it "was included on an email chain with a bomb threat. This threat was sent to 191 recipients in DC and has created chaos across the city," Armbruster said on X.
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Meanwhile, Councilmember Zachary Parker also confirmed that his office has received concerns "from neighbours regarding a bomb threat sent via email to DC schools across the city today stating that a bomb would go off within a certain time frame. Schools were evacuated, and MPD units across the city conducted sweeps and walkthroughs."
"There is no credible threat to DC schools at this time. My team has been in touch with MPD, which has cleared all Ward 5 schools that received threats and deemed them to be safe," he added.
Students at College of the Holy Cross in Massachusetts were also evacuated due to a bomb threat, despite officials stating that the threat level was low. Searches and evacuations were carried out on-site by Worcester and State Police, as well as the Fire Department.
This incident comes just a week after bomb threat emails were sent to government leaders in 13 states, creating disruption and evacuations in some state capitals. However, further FBI investigations revealed that the threats were fake, with no bombs located in federal facilities.