Police in multiple cities are investigating after several school threats were made across Northeast Ohio on Monday and Tuesday, prompting some districts to close schools for the day.
Two students, a 12-year-old girl from Lorain and a 13-year-old girl from Garfield Heights, have been charged in connection with threats in their respective cities.
Lorain
A 12-year-old girl in Lorain was charged Tuesday for allegedly threatening on social media "to shoot up a school."
According to Lorain Police Lt. Jacob Morris, the department was notified around 4 a.m. by the FBI about the threat, prompting an investigation.
Lorain High School was closed "out of an abundance of caution" while police looked into the matter.
Around 7 a.m., the girl confessed to police about making the post as a joke, Morris said.
After police determined that the girl had no way of following through on the threat, she was issued a court summons for an inducing panic charge.
Morris also said that she's still subject to school disciplinary action.
We've reached out to the Lorain City School District for more information.
Garfield Heights
Around 8:45 a.m. Monday, Garfield Heights police said that they were notified about a threat made on Instagram regarding schools in Garfield Heights and Maple Heights.
The district said additional police and security measures were deployed during the school day, and students and staff remained safe.
Garfield Heights police said detectives, along with members of the FBI and the ATF, identified the suspect allegedly responsible as a 13-year-old girl in Garfield Heights.
Around 3 p.m. Monday, police executed a search warrant on her home and took her into custody. She has unspecified charges pending in Cuyahoga County Juvenile Court.
"Though we have seen these types of occurrences result in a baselessness, or social media hoaxes, the Garfield Heights City Schools must address any and all signals for threats of violence with the utmost seriousness and has done so in this case. Please know that the safety and security of the students, staff, and buildings of the Garfield Heights City Schools is our top priority," the district said.
Other threats
Clearview High School and Durling Middle School in Lorain are both closed on Tuesday after receiving a bomb threat.
The school district sent this statement on Tuesday morning.
In Clearview, the threat was made on social media late last night, but not noticed until early this morning, stating that "a bomb will be placed on the campus of Clearview High School" and that "the following will take place on Tuesday, September 10th." As a result, Clearview High School and Durling Middle School, which share the same campus, were closed for the day while authorities conducted a thorough investigation.
The Lorain County Sheriff's Department responded immediately to the threat, deploying bomb-sniffing dogs to search both school buildings. After a comprehensive sweep, no explosives or dangerous materials were found.
We take every threat seriously and prioritize the safety of our students and staff. Thanks to the swift actions of local law enforcement and school officials, we were able to ensure the safety of everyone on our campus.
The campus has now been declared safe, and classes will resume as scheduled tomorrow, September 11, 2024.
We appreciate the cooperation of our students, parents, and staff during this time.
The Cleveland Arts and Social Sciences Academy is also closed for the "safety and security of staff and scholars," according to the school; specifics regarding what prompted the closure weren't provided.
Copley police have an extra presence at Copley High School Tuesday after a student made a threat Monday on Snapchat to shoot everyone at the high school, according to a statement from Copley police. Police do not believe the threat is credible and said students, staff and the community at large are not in danger.
As for the suspect, "Officers went to the student's home and spoke with their parents, who said they were aware of the threat and were keeping their child home from classes," the Beacon Journal reported.
Harding Middle School closed Tuesday after a student made a bomb threat, according to the Lakewood City Schools. Lakewood police went to the school, and after further investigation, they found that the school was deemed safe.
Lorain County JVS trade school went virtual on Wednesday due to a written threat involving a student that circulated Snapchat. The school administration and Lorain County Sherriff's Office released a joint statement saying the threat was formulated outside of the county and not related to a JVS student.
The investigation determined the threat was not connected to the previous student-related threat that happened last week:
RELATED: Sheriff's Office investigating 'serious threat' at Lorain County JVS
Nordonia High School and Middle School were mentioned in a social media post, which the schools believe to be a hoax. Nordonia schools said they coordinated with local police departments.
"While we do not believe this to be a credible threat, we are taking proactive steps out of an abundance of caution," Nordonia Schools said in a statement.
The Orrville Police Department said they were made aware of a threat toward numerous school districts Wednesday, including the Orrville City School District. The department said officers were deployed to the school immediately to investigate the situation.
The Orange City Schools had a shelter-in-place because of an off-campus situation, according to the district. After investigation, the "all-clear" was given for school activity to resume as usual.
Buckeye Local High School was also closed Wednesday due to facing threats, according to the school.
The threats come shortly after a school shooting in Georgia. David Morgan is a retired FBI Agent who now owns TMD Security Consulting. He said after a school shooting, threats typically increase. "I believe normally there are about 30 threats per week that come in that are baseless threats. But, over the last week or so that number far exceeds 30," said Morgan.
He added that someone who makes a threat on social media can face a list of charges. "Anytime there is a threat there is a host of local, state and federal violations that student has committed and the tendency now more often than not is to prosecute that student," added Morgan.
Orrville City Schools are closed Friday "out of an abundance of caution."
"Over the past two days, we have received various perceived threats posted on social media, some of which may have started outside the area. We have and will continue to work with the Orrville City Police Department to investigate these perceived threats. But as stated, as an abundance of caution, we thought it would be prudent to close school today as we work with law enforcement on this investigation," the district said.
The local threats and school closings come in the wake of a horrific school shooting in Georgia that left four dead.
