At least four Kentucky schools were hit by phony bomb threat under a 24-hour span, which police believe was a nasty Valentine's Day-themed social media prank. Similar threats were given to two other southern states.
According to WLWT5, the threats were first made at a suicide hotline around 2 p.m. on Wednesday. The calls claimed there was an explosion in Boone County High School, prompting a lockdown as bomb squads were rushed to search the facility.
It was ultimately confirmed that there was no threat at the school.
In a statement on Wednesday, the Boone County School District said, “The safety and security of all students is of the utmost importance to us, and we will continue to work with law enforcement agencies in these types of situations to continue to ensure the safety of all.”
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Police placed temporarily lockdown to start search operation
Next day, other threats were made through Suicide Prevention Hotline to Connor High School, St. Henry High School and Beechwood Independent School District.
{{/usCountry}}Next day, other threats were made through Suicide Prevention Hotline to Connor High School, St. Henry High School and Beechwood Independent School District.
{{/usCountry}}While police placed temporarily lockdown, the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport Police Bomb Unit searched the school grounds but did not discover any explosive devices.
According to officials, each call to the hotlines appeared to be made using a pre-recorded or artificially manufactured voice.
Investigators also discovered social media posts with recordings of similar threats with titles and hashtags such as "I don't want to buy you flowers, that's too basic, I'll call in a bomb threat instead," implying that the calls were part of a bizarre Valentine's Day prank.
Despite their suspicions of a bogus threat, the Boone County Sheriff's Office stated that they treat every tip they receive as if it were genuine until they can secure the safety of all concerned parties.
While the suspect in the bomb hoax is still unknown, authorities are still investigating.
According to media reports, Harrisburg received one similar bomb threat on Thursday, while Shelby received one the previous week.
Also Read: Florida man found with notes detailing plans to ‘kill everyone’ at his former school, arrested
Kentucky received similar threats in past
It wasn't the first time Kentucky had to deal with harmful social media pranks aimed at TikTok users in its schools.
In August, four Kentucky teenagers were arrested in Oldham County and charged with terrorism and harassment for reportedly filming themselves to alert their teachers they had bombs or firearms in their bags.