Two Springfield, Ohio, elementary schools were evacuated Friday, and one middle school was closed after bomb threats were made following similar incidences the day before.
Students at Perrin Woods Elementary School and Snowhill Elementary School were evacuated and moved to an “alternate district location” on Friday morning to be picked up by their parents, the district said. Roosevelt Middle School was closed before school began due to bomb threats.
According to statements by the Springfield City School District and the City Hall, this follows a similar incident the day prior at City Hall and Fulton Elementary School.
“All threats to the Springfield City School District are taken seriously and will be prosecuted at the highest levels,” Superintendent Robert Hill wrote in the statement.
Threats were also emailed to “multiple facilities” throughout Springfield, according to a city statement. The media was also told that threats had been emailed to several city commissioners and a municipal employee.
There is no publically known motive behind the bomb threats, but they come as the Ohio city has been in the national spotlight following claims and rumors immigrants from Haiti have been capturing and eating people’s pets and wild geese.
Former President Donald Trump commented on the claims during his second presidential debate on Tuesday, while vice presidential candidate JD Vance spoke about them on X a day before.
Other claims have alleged the immigrants were squatting on private property and crashing vehicles, according to people who spoke at recent town hall events.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, whose family has built a network of schools and operates a charity in Haiti, said the claims were false and called them crazy.
“This is something that came up on the internet, and the internet can be quite crazy sometimes,” he said in an interview with CBS News.
He said the mayor of Springfield has denied the claims, so people should just ignore the rumors.
However, the state’s attorney general, Dave Yost, said in a post on X that there were credible claims that the immigrants were capturing geese for food.
“There’s a recorded police call from a witness who saw immigrants capturing geese for food in Springfield. Citizens testified to City Council,” he said in his post on Wednesday.
He said the callers would be “competent witnesses” in court and asked why media outlets had disregarded the claims amid the city’s denials.
“Why does the media find a carefully worded City Hall press release better evidence?” he concluded.
Springfield Strategic Engagement Manager Karen Graves told The Epoch Times on Tuesday “that there have been no credible reports or specific claims of pets being harmed, injured or abused by individuals within the immigrant community,” responding to the allegations. A Springfield police spokesperson said similar on the same day.
Springfield City Manager Bryan Heck said in a recent announcement shared on Facebook the city is facing challenges amid population growth due to the immigrants, but has also benefited from new residents, contributing to the workforce including local businesses.
“These rumors will not distract us from addressing the real strain on our resources, including the impact to our schools, healthcare. systems and first responders,” he said.
Some 15,000 Haitians have arrived in the city of about 59,000 people since 2020.
Earlier this year, the Department of Homeland Security announced that the temporary protected status for Haitian immigrants has been extended until Feb. 3, 2026, including those who have entered illegally, which protects them from being deported to their home cpuntry.
Haiti is currently listed as “Level 4–Do Not Travel” due to kidnappings, crime, and a poor health care infrastructure, amid other concerns, according to the U.S. State Department.