At least four Hudson Valley school districts received bomb threats on Monday, according to reports News 12 compiled from officials in each district. They include schools in Newburgh,
Rye, Bronxville and
Pelham.
In Newburgh, the district sent out an alert Monday at 2:48 p.m. that a district staff member received an emailed bomb threat. Administration said police were called and K-8 after-school activities were canceled as a result. The district tells News 12 that students evacuated the building.
City officials say law enforcement from the City of Newburgh Police Department and the Orange County Sheriff’s Office responded and found that the message wasn’t a credible threat.
The incident remains under investigation.
So far, it’s not clear if all the district’s K-8 schools were evacuated. News 12 has calls out to administration to confirm and get more information.
People News 12 spoke to in the area say hoaxes like these are a shame.
“It’s scary for everyone but it’s a sign of the times,” says Ricky Singh.
“I grew up here and went through the district and we were happy to get or children out. I don’t think anyone feels safe,” Dan Schwarzbeck says.
Several teachers at different schools in the Newburgh school district reached out to News 12 anonymously saying schools should have been dismissed early after the threat and shared concerns about returning to classes on Tuesday.
“Everybody was regular dismissal. We weren’t even told anything. We just got that e-mail and that was it. They didn’t rush the kids out or nothing,” says one teacher.
The sheriff's office says decisions to dismiss or close schools are made by districts on a case-by-case basis and that there's no set protocol when making determinations to do so.