CANAL WINCHESTER, Ohio — Canal Winchester schools closed Monday in response to a threat, a district spokesperson said.
The district received a call about the reported threat shortly before 7 a.m. No students were in the building at the time, police said, and all staff were safely evacuated.
According to the spokesperson, high school and middle school students were rerouted home and families notified. The Fairfield County Sheriff's Office has since investigated and deemed the threat was not credible.
Due to starting at a later time, students in pre-K through 5th grade were not yet in school buildings, the spokesperson said. All school buildings have been evacuated.
Also on Monday, the Pickerington Local School District announced a bomb threat at its high school and told people to avoid the building.
Amy Clark’s son is a freshman at Pickerington High School North.
“My biggest thing is reminding him that he is safe and he is taken care of and the school does know what they're doing and the police know what they're doing. You know it probably was a little scary in the moment but they were following the protocol they were doing what they needed to do to keep them safe," Clark said.
A dozen businesses were also closed on Sunday after non-credible bomb threats.
The sheriff's office said a man linked to threats at both schools and around Canal Winchester was located several states away, near the west coast.
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