Bomb threats disrupt schools, difficult to trace

A system that routes phone calls over the Internet is making it difficult for law enforcement to pinpoint who has called in dozens of bomb threats to Delaware schools and others throughout the Northeast.

“These are being routed from overseas which makes finding out who's responsible extremely difficult,” said Sen. Brian Pettyjohn, R-Georgetown, sharing a conversation he had with Department of Safety and Homeland Security James N. Mosley about the origin of the bomb threats. “Somebody could be on The Circle in Georgetown and putting these out, but the phone company where they are coming from is overseas.”

The use of Voice Over Internet Protocol, or VOIP, is a challenge for law enforcement to track, Pettyjohn said. It routes calls over the internet instead of a traditional telephone network.

“It's proving a challenge for law enforcement along the East Coast to figure out who's responsible for this,” Pettyjohn said. “It's odd how the schools are being picked, not sure whether it's randomly or not.”

Delaware State Police are investigating several of the bomb threats that have interrupted schools since Jan. 11. The latest threats were made Jan. 20.

Master Cpl. Gary Fournier said investigators are using all their resources to find out who is behind the calls. Police are also sharing information with the FBI. "We are doing our own investigation and passing on information to the FBI," he said.

Amy Thoreson, spokeswoman for the FBI's Baltimore office, could not be reached for comment.

"The calls are all similar in nature, but we cannot confirm at this time that they are the same individual or individuals," Fournier said. “We are working with Verizon and other phone companies to trace the calls.”

Rehoboth Beach Police Chief Keith Banks said he could not comment on an active criminal investigation, but his department is coordinating efforts with agencies throughout the state.

Since Jan. 11, more than a dozen Delaware schools have received bomb threats. Most of the calls have been placed between 9:30 and 10 a.m. by a person who has disguised his or her voice with a device, Fournier said.

New Jersey has reported 26 bomb threats to schools; a Bergen County sheriff said calls to Bergen County schools could have originated in Bakersfield, Calif., according to a Reuters report.

On Jan. 19, a call to Long Neck Elementary took a sinister twist when the caller indicated an armed person was on the roof of the school, intending to harm students and faculty.

Students and faculty were immediately placed on lockdown while police and a K-9 unit responded to the school, Fournier said. Delaware State Police Aviation conducted an aerial search of the school and the grounds and found nothing suspicious, he said.

At the same time, bomb threats were called in at Rehoboth Elementary, Woodbridge High School and Silver Lake Elementary in Middletown. Someone also called Central Middle School in Dover with a similar threat as Long Neck, Fournier said.

Fournier said while a bomb threat is taken seriously, the calls to Long Neck and Central Middle have escalated the threat.

“If they're saying someone is at the school trying to do harm, that is an immediate threat,” he said.

On Jan. 20, a fourth school in Indian River School District received a bomb threat when East Millsboro Elementary got a call at about 10 a.m. At the same time, Fournier said, Everett Meredith Middle School in Middletown received a similar call.

Indian River School District Superintendent Susan Bunting said every district school has a safety plan, and the district has used daily security measures to ensure the safety of children and staff.

“While we understand these incidents are unnerving, we hope parents will trust us to keep their children safe," Bunting said in a press release. " I’d also like to remind parents that every school has an armed security monitor on duty at all times. Some of our secondary schools also have a school resource officer on campus.”

Fournier said state police are investigating schools in their jurisdiction while municipal police are conducting their own investigations. Delaware State Police are also sharing information with the FBI, Fournier said.

“We want to emphasize that we are working diligently to solve this,” he said. “Our main concern is to maintain a safe environment for learning.”

Throughout the Northeast, police have reported bomb threats at schools in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Massachusetts.

Pettyjohn said the number of schools involved over a wide geographical area raises concerns.

“It makes people wonder what's going on and what the purpose of this is,” Pettyjohn said.

Pettyjohn said federal, state and local officials are all working together to find out who is behind the phone calls.

Students and staff at Rehoboth Elementary walked to the Rehoboth Beach firehouse following a 9:30 a.m. bomb threat at the school. Students then returned to the school by bus.

"The students walked to the fire station yesterday so that we could minimize the amount of time they were outside in the cold weather," said Cape Henlopen School District Superintendent Robert Fulton.

Students and staff were taken to the firehouse and everyone was safe while police checked the school, said Alyssa Titus, spokeswoman for the Cape Henlopen School District.

Long Neck students and staff went to Long Neck United Methodist Church where parents could pick up their children, according to the Indian River School District's website. Students and staff returned to Long Neck Elementary when it was cleared.

Woodbridge High School and Silver Lake Elementary in Middletown also received bomb threats Jan. 19.

At Silver Lake Elementary, students were bused to a safe location while the building was searched. There were no students at Woodbridge Jan. 19; faculty was evacuated during a search and nothing out of the ordinary was found, Fournier said.

The first wave of bomb threats began Jan. 11 when Caesar Rodney High School, Indian River High School, Seaford Middle School and schools in Smyrna, Milford and Hockessin received bomb threats. The next day, Jan. 12, Beacon Middle School, Millsboro Middle School, Milford High School, Central Middle School and an early childhood center in Woodbridge received calls. Dozens of schools along Eastern Shore Maryland have also received calls since Jan. 11.

Sen. Ernie Lopez, R-Lewes, issued a statement following Rehoboth's bomb threat, calling the caller a coward.

"Let me make something perfectly clear to those who continue to try to instill fear into moms and dads, grandparents and our community as a whole: your actions are despicable and when you are discovered you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law," Lopez wrote. "It is only a matter of time until your arrogance and mean-spiritedness catch up with you and when they do, please be mindful of the fact that in choosing to use our children to spread your fear, patience and understanding as to your reasoning will be difficult to bestow. We will find you."

Anyone with information in reference to any of these incidents is asked to contact Troop 2 Youth Aid Division at 834-2620, Troop 3 Youth Aid Division at 697-4454, or Troop 4 Youth Aid Division at 856-5850. Information may also be provided by calling Delaware Crime Stoppers at 1-800-TIP-3333, via the internet at www.delaware.crimestoppersweb.com, or by sending an anonymous tip by text to 274637 (CRIMES) using the keyword DSP.