More than three dozen school districts in Florida were targeted with a false bomb threat report on Tuesday, part of a “swatting” email thread, according to police in Citrus County.
The Citrus County School District issued a communication from Citrus School Police Chief Rachel Montgomery on Tuesday night, notifying parents about the situation.
Montgomery indicated that the district was one of at least 46 to receive the same email containing the fabricated bomb threat. Authorities stated that the email did not provide specific details or direct threats toward any individual school campus.
“There is no sign that this poses a credible threat to our schools,” Montgomery affirmed. “This notification is to directly inform our parents and curb the spread of rumors or misinformation.”
Local and state law enforcement were investigating the situation on Tuesday, while officials in Citrus County announced that their schools would remain open and maintain a normal schedule.
The School Board of Highlands County addressed the situation on Tuesday evening, noting that the fake bomb threat resembled others that had been sent across the state previously.
“This appears to be a non-credible, generic threat that was sent to numerous school superintendents and officials throughout the state of Florida, and is not specific to Highlands County,” the school board said. “We do not believe this threat to be credible whatsoever.”
No further information was immediately available.
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