Federal authorities are assisting state and local police after multiple communities across Massachusetts reported receiving phoned-in threats Tuesday morning; schools in New Hampshire and Maine also reported receiving a phoned-in threat.
State police in Massachusetts say schools in 14 communities received a phoned-in threat Tuesday morning:
- Groton
- Weymouth
- Taunton
- Arlington
- Plymouth
- Salisbury
- Waltham
- Ayer
- Tewksbury
- Newton
- Billerica
- Swampscott
- Kingston
- Westford (Nashoba Valley Tech)
Some schools have already been cleared, according to state police. The state's Fire Marshal's Office also responded to the threats.
Threats have also been phoned-in to Farmington High School in New Hampshire and Gardner High School in Maine.
Classes were dismissed at Arlington High School for the rest of the day on Tuesday, and students at Groton Middle School and the Florence Roche School were evacuated; authorities in both communities have since stated that that the threats were unfounded.
Fitzgerald Elementary School in Waltham was also evacuated Tuesday morning after a male called in a threat, police confirmed. State police are coming in with bomb detecting dogs and children will return to the school once it is cleared.
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A threat was phoned-in to Swampscott High School around 11:45 a.m. Tuesday, prompting the evacuation of students and dismissal from classes for the rest of the day, authorities confirm. The incident is still under investigation.
Police in Tewksbury say they're investigating at Tewksbury High School. Newton police said firefighters are currently at Newton North High School investigating, but they do not believe the school was evacuated.
The Superintendents office of Ayer-Shirley Regional say the high school received a threat and that students were moved to a local elementary school.
The superintendent of Taunton Public Schools says its administrative offices received a threatening phone call just after 11 p.m. Monday night, and was listened to Tuesday morning. Officials say as a result, Taunton police sent more officers to schools and that it was determined by authorities that the comments in the voicemail were general in nature and not specific to Taunton, and did not warrant an evacuation.
School officials in Plymouth say there was a threat called in to Plymouth South Middle School before 10 a.m. Students were evacuated into the gym and cafeteria, and classes resumed after a sweep of the school.
There was also a phone-in threat to Billerica Memorial High School that involved the entire school district, according to Billerica Public Schools Superintendent Timothy Piwowar. Billerica Police undertook a sweep of every district building and found nothing; however, officers will still be stationed at each building for the rest of the school day.
In Weymouth, school officials say there were phoned-in threats at the high school and both Abigail Adams and Chapman middle schools, but add that police found nothing during a search.
In neighboring New Hampshire, Farmington police said the community's high school was evacuated for about an hour Tuesday morning; the reason for the evacuation wasn't immediately known.
In Maine, students at Gardner High School were dismissed for the day after staff received a threatening phone call around 10:30 a.m., according to the district's superintendent; all after school activities were also canceled.
Police in Arlington say it's unclear if Tuesday's incident is connected with a threatening "robo call" received at another Arlington school last Friday that prompted evacuations. Arlington Police tweeted they don't believe the threats are credible at this time. Boston police's bomb squad also responded to the scene.
Schools in several states around the Northeast are being evacuated or locked down amid threats of violence. It's unclear if the threats are connected to one another.
