Bomb Threats Close Dozens of Schools in Northeast

Bomb threats forced the closure or lockdown of more than two dozen schools in New Jersey, Massachusetts and Delaware on Tuesday, according to Reuters.

Tuesday’s threats come after nine schools in the Boston area had received similar threats on Friday.

In New Jersey, at least 26 schools received bomb threats by phone starting shortly before 9:00 a.m. Tuesday, according to Bergen County Sheriff Michael Saudino. The threats were received by high schools in Teaneck, Garfield, Tenafly, Clifton, Fair Lawn, Leonia, Bergenfield, Englewood and Hackensack. All the schools eventually got the all-clear.

Saudino said that the threats were made in a robotic voice and appeared to come from computer-generated phone numbers that were traced to Bakersfield, California.

Police said that in addition to the bomb threats, at least one school was threatened with a mass shooting.

In Massachusetts, Arlington High School, located outside Boston, was evacuated and students were dismissed for the day after officials reported a threat of an attack using bombs and guns. According to the Associated Press, students were also dismissed from Groton Middle School and the Florence Roche School, and an investigation was underway into a possible threat against Tewksbury High School.

In Delaware, at least three schools received threats by phone in a robotic or computer-generated-style voice; the elementary schools in Millsboro and Middletown, and a high school in Greenwood, were evacuated, according to a statement by Delaware State Police. Police did not release information about the nature of the threats.

One school in the Midwest also received a threat Tuesday morning: Iowa City West High School, in Iowa City, Iowa, received a phoned-in bomb threat, forcing the school’s evacuation, according to local media.