Mayor Domenic J. Sarno joined Schools Superintendent Dr. Sonia Dinnall and Police Superintendent Lawrence Akers for a press conference today at City Hall to address the surge of hoax threats being made toward our schools.
Springfield, like many school districts across the country, has seen an increase in hoax school threats this school year. The threats are often made by call, text, email, or posted on social media. The false threats have caused unnecessary panic and significantly disrupted school operations. There have been fourteen incidents of false threats made toward Springfield schools involving a gun or bomb this school year. Each threat thus far has been thoroughly investigated and debunked as a hoax.
Earlier today, a student was arrested in connection with a hoax bomb threat made against the Chestnut Campus this morning. While today's arrest is the first, three criminal complaints have also been filed in connection with other hoax incidents involving Springfield Public Schools (SPS).
The City, Springfield Public Schools, and the Police Department continue working together to ensure the safety and security of our schools. In response to this rise in hoax threats disrupting Springfield schools this year, Mayor Sarno, Police Superintendent Akers, and Springfield Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Dinnall held a press conference to address the seriousness of these threats and make clear that there is a zero-tolerance policy toward false threats made against our schools.
Mayor Sarno states, “The chaos, fear, and disruption to the education of our students caused by these hoax threats is unacceptable and will not be tolerated. We will not allow hoax perpetrators to dictate when we can safely have school in session. We have safety procedures in place to investigate these situations and secure our school buildings. I commend our Springfield Police and Fire/Emergency Communication teams and SPS working closely on their quick investigation and arrest on the most recent threat that occurred. To make a threat like this is not a joke, it is a serious matter and will be taken seriously. If you are caught you will face repercussions, and parents/guardians could face them too.”
Schools Superintendent Dr. Dinnall states, “We are grateful to our partners in the Springfield Police Department for working with us to ensure the safety of our schools. We are concerned about the sharp increase in hoax threats being made against our schools this year. Every threat is taken seriously, and I want to commend our Department of Safety and Security for their swift and thorough response to each reported incident. Their work, in close partnership with law enforcement, helps keep our schools safe. Our collaboration with the police remains strong, and safety is always our top priority. Please know that we take every threat seriously, and any student found to be involved in making a threat against a school will be held accountable for their disruptive actions. We must all work together as a community to talk with our children about the seriousness of making threats. Let’s work together to create a secure environment for all, free from unnecessary disruption to the school day.
Police Superintendent Akers stated, “I want to send a clear message to our parents, every threat we receive is properly vetted and at no time if a threat was deemed credible would we allow your children or staff anywhere near a school. Moving forward we are enacting a zero tolerance policy for these types of threats that are disrupting the school day and taking away valuable resources. We urge you to monitor your child’s social media accounts and potential secondary accounts and talk to your children about the consequences. We do not want to arrest our children, but we need your help to keep our community safe.”
