State Police Release Statement on More Than 30 School Bomb Threats Today

By ALISON BAUTER (Patch Staff

WILMINGTON, MA - Days after a round of robocall bomb threats put more than a dozen Massachusetts schools on temporary lockdown, over 30 schools were confirmed to have received similar threats Thursday.

High schools, including those in Brookline, Arlington, Dracut, Acton, Needham, Littleton, Marblehead, Woburn,Andover, Melrose, Newton, Danvers, Tewksbury, Ludlow, Billerica, Lynn and beyond, received threats Thursday. Calls again came in around 8 a.m., and the schools have been checked and deemed safe.

• See also: With School Bomb Threat Hoaxes, A Long Tale of Frustration and Trauma
• Study: Massachusetts Gets More School Bomb Threats Than Any Other State

State Police released a statement just before noon.

As of this writing, we are aware of 32 schools in Massachusetts that have received robo-call bomb threats today. The response to the threats is being handled, variously, by local police and fire departments, the State Police Bomb Squad, State Police patrols and K9 units, and the office of the State Fire Marshal. The threats are being tracked by State Police at the Commonwealth Fusion Center. For each threat, a risk assessment is performed and authorities are responding accordingly. No hazardous devices have been found at any sites as of this time.

Please note that for tactical reasons we will not list all the communities where threats are being received.

The investigation into the spate of school bomb threats is being led by the FBI with assistance from the Massachusetts State Police and the Office of the State Fire Marshal. As previously noted on various dates earlier this year, we believe the robo-call threats are delivered to targeted destinations through an online network or networks via numerous routers.

No further information is being released at this time.

A round of automated calls Monday sparked the same conundrum administrators face again, three days later: how do schools have struggled with how to react without overreacting? What would have triggered a school dismissal just a year ago now often results in a short break while law enforcement sweep the school.

• Sign up for free local news alerts and daily newsletters for your town.

The calls Monday resulted in some schools sheltering in place while local officials swept the halls for bombs or other threats. Every precinct rapidly concluded the threats were unfounded Monday.