A bomb threat at Licking Heights Local School District is now believed to be linked to several other bomb threats in other Ohio school districts.
Ohio Homeland Security believes the incidents are the result of ‘Swatting’.
Swatting is when someone calls in a false report of a critical incident to force bomb squads or SWAT units to respond.
Once Ohio Homeland Security became aware of the multiple incidents it alerted the Ohio Department of Education and requested ODE to send an alert out to all school districts in the state.
Staff at the Licking Heights High School received a recorded message about a bomb threat around 11:30 a.m. Friday.
"We did our threat assessment and it looked to be accurate. On the recorded message it said four times that the bomb would detonate in 35 minutes,” Licking Heights Local School District Superintendent Dr. Philip H. Wagner said.
Police in Dayton say a similar threat was received at two schools in that city on Friday.
Wagner says this is the first time he's ever heard of multiple bomb threats received at several schools at the same time.
"What we can tell is it did come over an internet call, that's about the best we have right now,” Dr. Philip H. Wagner said.
Ohio Homeland Security says that small detail was a familiar detail and what prompted the agency to send a note to every school district in the state.
Sergeant Thomas Gerber, with Ohio Homeland Security’s Strategic Analysis and Information Center, said multiple threats were made using calls going out over the internet.
"So what that enables them to do is it masks all of their identity,” Sgt. Gerber said.
Sgt. Gerber said reports from schools around the state are still coming in and they want to use that information to identify the source.
"Whenever those calls come in, or those reports come in, follow your guidelines that are established for your emergency protocols but keep that in the back of their mind and that is why reporting into the center is so vitally important,” he said.
Sgt. Gerber said Ohio Homeland Security will serve as the source to collect all the information but local police departments will take the lead on investigating each individual case.
However, state and even federal charges could apply.
"It could absolutely go up into the federal level,” Sgt. Gerber said. “And that’s the decision of our federal partners if they want to go ahead and take that on."
All of the information from each incident is being gathered by Ohio Homeland Security's ‘Fusion Center’, the Strategic Analysis and Information Center.
As a result of the 9/11 Commission Report, the National Network of Fusion Centers was created through a joint effort of US Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Department of Justice and the Office of National Intelligence. The Strategic Analysis and Information Center (SAIC) is one of 72 centers that make up the National Fusion Center Network, and is designated by the Governor as the primary State Fusion Center.
Created in 2005, its mission is to develop and support a statewide information sharing environment that is engaged with local, state and federal agencies from across Ohio in an effort to increase homeland security and support the national intelligence community.
Ohio’s Fusion Center is seeking information to help identify the source of the school related threats.
Here is how you can share information:
Ohio Fusion Center Network Contact Information
OHIO HOMELAND SECURITY - STRATEGIC ANALYSIS & INFORMATION CENTER
EMAIL: saic@dps.ohio.gov
24/7 STATEWIDE TIPLINE: 877-OHS-INTEL (877-647-4683)
A SAFER OHIO APP – iPHONE and Android
ANONYMOUS SCHOOL THREAT TIP LINE: 844-SAFEROH (844-723-3764)
GREATER CINCINNATI FUSION CENTER
EMAIL: GCFC@gcfc.org
PHONE: (513) 263-8000
NORTHEAST OHIO REGIONAL FUSION CENTER (NEORFC)
EMAIL: info@neorfc.us
PHONE: (216) 515-8477