WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal brokers consider a current spate of threats and false studies of shooters at excessive colleges and faculties throughout the U.S. could also be coming from exterior of the nation, an FBI official stated Monday.
To this point, officers have recognized calls to about 250 faculties, 100 excessive colleges and several other junior excessive colleges since early June falsely reporting explosive gadgets being planted on the colleges or saying {that a} capturing was imminent.
Based mostly on the FBI’s investigation, these threats don’t look like racially motivated, the official stated, and investigators suspect the callers may very well be positioned exterior of the U.S. The official stated investigators have been working traces on the numbers and web addresses, which led them to consider the calls could also be generated abroad. The official spoke to reporters on situation of anonymity to debate particulars of the investigation.
The replace comes as educational establishments throughout the nation have confronted a surge of threats, together with many focusing on traditionally Black faculties and universities.
Earlier this yr, dozens of traditionally Black faculties have been focused by calls or emails threatening to set off bombs on their campuses. In these incidents, which occurred in January and February, greater than 50 establishments obtained threats that contained racial slurs, the official stated.
Federal investigators discovered that three numbers have been used to speak these threats and authorities have been in a position to establish a number of minors who might have been concerned, the official stated. As they investigated, federal brokers found one juvenile who they consider was primarily answerable for making the threats. These threats are believed to return from inside this nation.
The Justice Division labored with state prosecutors and introduced a case in opposition to the juvenile in an unrelated risk case, the official stated. The minor is now topic to monitoring, which officers consider has “disrupted his felony conduct,” the official stated.
Investigators consider one other set of threats obtained in February and March by 19 traditionally Black faculties, universities and church buildings have been created from exterior of the U.S., the official stated. These calls don’t look like related to the threats made in January and February and the callers had completely different voices and accents, in line with the official.
Federal brokers tracked the telephone numbers and e-mail addresses used to overseas international locations. The official supplied no different particular particulars however stated the investigation was persevering with.