UPDATE: Police, FBI Investigating Johnston School Threats; Schools Will Resume Classes Wednesday

JOHNSTON, IA. -- Johnston police said at a press conference this morning that they could not "substantiate any credible or imminent threats" made Monday night against parents, students, staff or buildings in the Johnston school district. Police Chief Dennis McDaniel urged anyone who received threatening messages to contact the department.

All Johnston schools will reopen Wednesday.

McDaniel said the investigation began around 6:30 p.m. Monday as adults and students began alerting authorities to text messages they had received. Dozens of families reported messages and all came from the same phone number. McDaniel said at the press conference that "in general there were acts of violence that threatened at multiple Johnston school locations."

He said investigators worked through the night to look into a variety of leads and misinformation. The FBI and Joint Terrorism task Force as well as other state and local agencies are assisting in the case.

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McDaniel encouraged the public not to engage the sender or banter back and forth and added: "We believe it is very likely that these messages will continue and likely they will come from a new number or series of numbers," he said at the press conference.

Authorities are asking anyone who received a direct text message from the phone number 818-275-6848 to take a screenshot of the message and email it to johnstonpolice77@gmail.com along with their own phone number. McDaniel said they would like the full string of messages and/or conversation.

Residents with questions are asked to contact the Johnston Police Department at 515-278-2345.

Earlier

Johnston school district officials late Monday night alerted parents that all district schools and buildings would be closed on Tuesday after "threats of safety" were reported to the district by individual students and families. Police began working to track down the origin of the messages at that time.

A message sent via the school district's Twitter account and posted on its Facebook page shortly before 11 p.m. Monday said parents and students received anonymous messages "threatening the safety and security of our students. In an effort of caution, we will be canceling school for all students and district staff on Tuesday, October 3."

ALERT: Due to threats of safety, all JCSD schools/buildings are closed on Oct. 3. No staff, no students. https://t.co/18iGxxO4dF
— Johnston Schools (@JohnstonCSD) October" class="redactor-linkify-object">https://twitter.com/JohnstonCS... 3, 2017

Staff and families in the district also received an email from Superintendent Corey Lunn about the threats late Monday night. WHO-TV posted the following text of the email on its website:

“A message from JOHNSTON CMTY SCHOOL DISTRICT
Good evening, Johnston Parents and Staff,
Tonight, individual students and parents within our school district received anonymous messages, threatening the safety and security of our students. These messages started arriving around 8 p.m. and have continued throughout the night. In an effort of caution, we will be canceling school for all students and district staff tomorrow, Tuesday, October 3. All district buildings will be closed and there is no KTC program.
School district officials are working closely with the Johnston Police Department to track down the validity of the message and its source.
We understand this may inconvenience parents and caretakers and we regret sending this message at a late hour. However, the safety of our students and staff is the foremost reasoning behind this action.
As we receive information from the Johnston Police Department, we will keep you updated. If you have information related to these threats, please contact the Johnston Police Department at 515-278-2345.

This has been one of the toughest decisions I’ve had to make; please know I take the safety of all our students and staff seriously and feel this is the best choice for our district and school community.
Thank you,
Dr. Corey Lunn
JCSD Superintendent of Schools”

The school district north of Des Moines serves about 7,200 students in pre-kindergarten through high schools. Eight school buildings make up the district, which includes all of the city of Johnston and portions of Des Moines, Urbandale and Grimes.

District logo via Johnston schools website