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More bomb threats again close several Springfield buildings, schools evacuated

A look along Buck Creek in Springfield, Ohio showing the hospital and downtown.
Rob Hatfield
/
Public Domain
A look along Buck Creek in Springfield, Ohio showing the hospital and downtown.

Several government buildings and schools have again been evacuated in Springfield today after a second round of bomb threats.

Early this morning, Friday Sept. 13, they received two new bomb threats by email.

One email targeted city commissioners and a city employee, according to a city news release. The other message threatened multiple locations: Springfield City Hall, Cliff Park High School, Perrin Woods Elementary School, Roosevelt Middle School, the Bureau of Motor Vehicles, and the Ohio License Bureau Southside.

As a precaution, all those buildings have been evacuated. Officers inspected the buildings with bomb-sniffing dogs and cleared them

The city and FBI continue to investigate the threats.

"In response to these threats, local and regional law enforcement, along with our public safety partners, have acted promptly. We are committed to the safety and well-being of our community and take all threats to public safety with the utmost seriousness," the city says in a news release.

Springfield City Schools evacuated and dismissed Perrin Woods and Snowhill Elementary students this morning, and kept Roosevelt Middle School closed today.

This comes as racist rumors targeting Haitian immigrants in Springfield have been circulating on social media all week, starting with some far-right content creators and eventually being shared by former President Donald Trump, U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH), Republican U.S. Senate candidate Bernie Moreno and others.

On Thursday, Sept. 12, several city buildings were evacuated amid bomb threats, but later cleared.

Springfield police said City Hall, the Bureau of Motor Vehicles, Springfield drivers exam station, Ohio License Bureau southside, Springfield Academy of Excellence, and Fulton Elementary School were all listed in the threat.

No bombs were found in those threats either.

Additional locations were investigated and cleared out of caution, including the Clark County Court facilities.

Officials are currently partnering with the Dayton Office of the FBI to identify the source of the email. Anyone with information is asked to contact Springfield police.

Updated: September 13, 2024 at 12:19 PM EDT
This is a breaking news story and will be updated as we learn more information. This story has been updated to include that several city government and other buildings also were evacuated and searched today, in addition to schools.
Kaitlin Schroeder (she/her) joined WYSO in 2024 with 10 years of experience in local news. This includes Dayton Daily News, Dayton Business Journal, the Morning Sentinel in Maine, and KosovaLive in Pristina, Kosovo.