Fake bomb threats sent to Minnesota schools and Jewish institutions

More than two dozen public schools and nine Jewish institutions in Minnesota received fake shooting and bombing threats Wednesday in an apparent effort to draw large law enforcement responses.

The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension said the threats came by email, and the wording in each of them is nearly identical.

The agency said none of the incidents turned out to be real, and that a person and address identified in the emails was not involved in making the threats.

The BCA said the threats were sent to public schools and Jewish facilities in 19 different jurisdictions across Minnesota but were not reported outside the state.

Investigators say they appear to be swatting incidents, where someone makes a phony threat in an attempt to draw a SWAT team to a particular address.

The BCA says the emails are not related to an incident Tuesday, where a boy was arrested on suspicion of threatening a Bemidji school and staff member. That prompted the district to move to online learning for Wednesday.

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