(WWNY) – In a second spate of school “swatting” incidents in just a few days, many north country schools delayed opening Tuesday morning.
Several later decided to close.
Dozens of schools across the state received an email containing a bomb threat. As with the false threats to schools on Thursday, law enforcement responded and couldn’t find any cause for alarm.
Gov. Kathy Hochul says she’s has directed state police to investigate the threats, identify the perpetrators, and hold them accountable.
She says more than 50 school districts in the north country, central New York, Long Island, and the Southern Tier received threats.
In a statement, General Brown school superintendent Brian Moore says the email his district received is believed to have come from overseas. It didn’t identify General Brown specifically and was sent to dozens of schools across the state.
In General Brown’s case, students were in the school and were evacuated as state police were called in. Moore said that even though school and law enforcement officials believed it was a hoax, they treated it as real as a precaution.
At several St. Lawrence County schools, opening was delayed while police made sure the buildings were safe. Massena, Madrid-Waddington, Canton, and Lisbon ultimately closed for the day.
Gouverneur, Edwards-Knox, Hermon-DeKalb, Lisbon, and Morristown delayed while their schools were searched.
St. Lawrence County Sheriff Brooks Bigwarfe told 7 News his department and state police were busy going to every school in the county to make sure everything was safe.
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