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Mostly Cloudy Police say email threatening L.B. schools was not credible
LBPD: threats were similar to those made in Los Angeles, New York City
Long Beach police said that an email sent to a number of school administrators early Thursday threatening schools throughout the district — similar to those received in Los Angeles and New York City earlier this week — was not credible, and police are investigating the incident with the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Joint Terrorism Task Force.
“When school officials arrived at school this morning we learned of an email threat that came in overnight threatening danger to all of our buildings district-wide,” Schools Superintendent David Weiss said in a statement on the district’s website. “Upon learning of this threat, we immediately contacted the Nassau County Police Department and the Long Beach Police Department. Both law enforcement agencies have determined that this is not a credible threat and there is no danger to our student and staff population.”
The incident occurred just two days after all public schools in Los Angeles were shut down — and classes for about 650,000 students were canceled — after several school board members there received an email in which the writer threatened a large-scale jihadist attack against the schools with “138 comrades” using explosives and assault weapons. Schools reopened on Wednesday after officials there said the threat was not credible and likely a hoax.
A similar threat was sent to New York City that day, but those schools remained open after Police Commissioner Bill Bratton said authorities determined that the threat was not credible and being investigating as a hoax. Bratton said that police on the West Coast had overreacted, according to NBC News, which sparked a backlash from Los Angeles officials who defended the decision to close the schools in the wake of the recent shootings in San Bernardino, Calif.
Weiss and other Long Beach school officials said that they take every threat seriously, and while the email was not credible, security was increased throughout the district on Thursday and Long Beach and county police intensified their patrols of all schools in the district. Weiss said the decision to keep schools open was made with police officials.
