Fake bomb threats were made against four schools in Kentucky on Wednesday and Thursday, and police believe the Valentine’s Day-themed social media prank is connected to at least two other southern states. There is.
According to the report, the threat first came into the suicide hotline around 2 p.m. Wednesday. WLWT5. Reports say there was an explosive device at Boone County High School, which led to the bomb squad being called out to search the building and leading to a lockdown.
It was later determined that there was no threat to the school, but the suicide hotline received another call around 8 a.m. the next day.
The threat was made against Conner High School, but police said the nature of the call indicated “the suspect had no detailed knowledge” of the school.
A third threat was received by the suicide hotline against St. Henry High School at 2 p.m. Thursday, and a fourth was made earlier in the day against the Beechwood Independent School District.
Lockdowns and searches at each of those schools turned up nothing, but Boone County police told the Post they immediately suspected the calls were a related prank.
Officials said each call to the hotline appears to be made with a prerecorded or artificially generated voice.
Investigators also found social media posts showing recordings of similar threats with titles and hashtags such as “I don’t want to buy flowers. They’re too basic. Instead, I’ll make a bomb threat.” Suggesting the phone call was part of the twist. Valentine’s Day prank.
The prank became widespread when police in Harrisburg, Virginia, and Shelby, North Carolina, saw calls from Kentucky and called Boone County to report threats against schools using nearly identical tactics in each city. It has been revealed that this is part of a trend on social media. Recent days.
One similar bombing was confirmed in Harrisburg on Thursday. WHSV3Shelby saw it last week, queen city news report.
Despite the alleged false threats, the Boone County Sheriff’s Office said it will treat all information received as genuine until it can ensure the safety of everyone involved.
This isn’t the first time Kentucky has dealt with such a dangerous social media prank targeting the likes of TikTok at a school.
Back in August, four Kentucky teenagers were arrested in Oldham County and charged with terrorism and harassment after they were allegedly filmed telling a teacher they had bombs and guns in their bags. It was done.
