Two bomb threats this week at Athens-Clarke County elementary schools may be part of a bigger state- and region-wide hoax, police said.
Timothy Road Elementary School was put on lockdown and swept by authorities Friday morning after it received a "pre-recorded message referencing a bomb threat," the Athens-Clarke County Police Department posted on Facebook on Saturday morning. A similar incident was reported Wednesday at the county's Barrow Elementary School.
No signs of danger were found at either school, but police are conducting a criminal investigation into the local threats — as well as exploring the possibility they could be linked to a larger trend.
“Investigators are communicating with other law enforcement agencies throughout the Southeastern United States regarding numerous similar hoax threats seemingly directed at elementary schools,” Athens police wrote on Facebook. In a statement, ACCPD Chief Scott Freeman said his department was collaborating with other agencies to identify those responsible for the “senseless emotional assault” against the schools.
The department did not mention specific agencies, and any possible connection between the incidents is unclear, but at least four other Georgia schools received threats last week. So did schools across the Southeast.
Newton County's Cousins Middle and Porterdale Elementary schools received threats on Wednesday and Friday, respectively. Clayton County's Jonesboro Middle School was the victim Friday of a "prank call" about a shooter on campus, and the Crisp County School System was also placed on "precautionary lockdown" after receiving an "unspecified threat."
The Tennessean newspaper reported that seven Tennessee schools also received bomb threats Friday. At least two Alabama schools received threats on Friday as well, according to Huntsville TV station WHNT News.
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