Bomb Threats: Who’s Responsible and Who’s In Charge?

As local schools continue to be plagued with computer generated bomb threats, the question regarding just who is heading the investigation into the local and statewide threats has moved to the forefront. Thus far, two local schools have been reported to have received threats, Jefferson Middle School and White Pine School, with White Pine receiving more than one threat in the course of a couple of weeks. Last week’s threats to Jefferson Middle School resulted in three school evacuations ( Jefferson Middle, Jefferson Elementary and Jefferson Academy) due to the proximity to Jefferson Middle School. Local schools have joined a growing list of schools that have been the recipient of threats since mid August.

While there have been arrests for particular, isolated, threats in Middle and West Tennessee , none of those arrests have stemmed the tide of threats that have plagued the area. Tennessee Emergency Management Agency tracks bomb threats across the state and are active in coordination and monitoring when a threat is made. However, according to their Public Information Officer, they are not involved with the investigation of the threats, instead referring questions regarding any coordinated investigation to Homeland Security. Interestingly, Homeland Security had just previously fielded questions regarding any coordinated, ongoing investigation to TEMA. Reports from other areas of the state indicated that the Federal Bureau of Investigation was called in on more than one threat early on but, as with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, it is not their policy to confirm or deny an ongoing investigation.

Mandy Schneitman is, among other things, the Emergency Coordinator for Jefferson County Schools. On Friday, she stated that there have been meetings to address the rash of threats that have plagued Jefferson, Hamblen and Knox Counties, as well as other areas of the state. The Department of Education Coordinator said that individual school response is dependent on the perceived level of threat, with the determination being made largely at the local school level. She stated that the Department of Education will act in the best interest of the students and student safety is paramount in decision making.

Though the local spotlight has been on threats made to schools, TEMA confirmed that the threats have extended to nursing homes and other government offices across the state. This is not the first time that Tennessee has had a rash of bomb threats and bomb threats, in general, are a fairly common occurrence. In 2012 multiple courthouses across Tennessee were on alert due to the threat of a bomb and that rash of threats bled into four other states. Unlike the computerized recent threats, the 2012 threats included a phone call with a live voice indicating that a bomb was going to explode. In the 2012 cases, the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Knoxville initiated an investigation that eventually led to an arrest and conviction of an Ohio man.

As parents and employees across the state await the identification of the person or persons responsible for creating the recent chaos, it is still unclear just who is heading the investigation and how many agencies are involved. With even the exact number of threats that have been made in question and the unlikely event that the threats will stop without intervention, it is possible that Tennessee and, even Jefferson County, may still be on the perpetrator call list.