MADISON TOWNSHIP — A number of school districts in Richland County received an emailed bomb threat on Sunday afternoon, according to Maj. Joe Masi, public information officer at the Richland County Sheriff’s Office.
The email stated a “terrorist organization had planted explosives in American school buildings set to detonate (Sunday) afternoon at 2 p.m. in retaliation for the support given by the United States to Ukraine.”
Masi stated the Richland County Sheriff’s Office immediately contacted the FBI, which advised the threat was most likely a hoax.
“We had no other information to corroborate the email by the so-called terrorist group,” Masi said. “We contacted the FBI and they are treating it as a hoax. They cannot establish any credibility for the threat.”
Masi said he was unsure how many school districts were threatened, but a number of districts around Ohio received the mass email.
“There is no evidence to indicate a specific, credible threat,” Masi said. “School and school activities will proceed (Monday) as normal.”
Even though authorities believe the threat is a hoax, they were in the process of implementing a variety of safety measures on Sunday night that would continue through Monday.
“We have physically, and are still physically checking every school building, checking the perimeter for a breach of security, anything that looks suspicious, including checking doors and windows,” Masi said.
“We’re not physically going inside, but we are looking for any potential breach in the perimeter of the school buildings within our jurisdiction.”
Authorities believe the email appears to mimic the mass email threat that was sent to schools in Central Texas on Dec. 8, which was also ruled a hoax by the FBI.
On Monday, Masi said there would be an increased presence around the schools as well.
“As a precautionary measure, our deputies will be patrolling the schools heavily, just for reassurance to staffs, community and students,” Masi said. “We are taking this seriously and we will have a presence.”
Madison was among the school districts threatened.
On Sunday afternoon, Madison supt. Rob Peterson sent out a notice of the situation to parents to keep the district informed of the situation.
Peterson’s notice stated:
Madison Community,
Today at 1:39 p.m., Madison Schools’ administration, along with a large number of other school districts in Richland County and throughout Ohio, received a threatening mass email with a bomb threat from an unidentified source claiming to be a Russian terrorist organization.
In the email, the sender claimed their partners from the terrorist organization had planted explosives in American school buildings set to detonate earlier this afternoon at 2 p.m. in retaliation for the support given by the United States to Ukraine.
The district immediately alerted the Richland County Sheriff’s Office which is working with the FBI to investigate the origin of the email.
There is no evidence to indicate a specific, credible threat. School and school activities will proceed tomorrow as normal.
This email appears to mimic the mass email threat that was sent to schools in Central Texas on Dec. 8, which was ruled a hoax by the FBI.
Nevertheless, school safety remains a top priority for Madison Schools, and we will continue working with law enforcement to monitor the situation and will make any necessary decisions based on information received from them.
In the meantime, the Richland County Sheriff’s Office has searched the perimeter of all of our buildings and has assured us that they will be taking additional precautionary security measures and providing extra patrols to ensure the safety of our students, staff, and families.
Thank you for your understanding in this matter, and as always, please report any suspicious or concerning activity to the district or local law enforcement.
Sincerely,
Rob Peterson, Superintendent