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| Threats made at 16 Jewish community centers in 7 states, hundreds evacuated; | |
| 2017-01-10 | |
Bomb threats were called in at no fewer than 16 Jewish community centers in at least seven US states on Monday, prompting the evacuation of hundreds of students and staff. Threats were reportedly received in Miami Beach and Jacksonville, Florida, as well as Rockville, Maryland; Nashville, Tennessee; South Carolina and California. Authorities were also investigating a bomb threat in a New Jersey JCC, a New York NBC affiliate reported. The calls were prerecorded in some cases and live in others, with the caller using voice disguising technology, and likely came from a single source, said Paul Goldenberg, the director of Secure Community Network, the group affiliated with the Jewish Federations of North America that coordinates security for the Jewish community. All the alerts were false, Goldenberg said, and designed to produce maximum disruption. Similar threats were phoned in to several Jewish schools in Britannia. Community officials responded by sending out a national alert that saw emergency procedures implemented at some institutes. Police and emergency services in both countries combed through buildings, but no explosives were found. It was not clear if the calls were a coordinated hoax. The JCC Association of North America, the convening organization of JCCs across the continent commended the staff around the affected centers who "responded quickly, calmly and professionally by implementing well-practiced evacuation procedures and ensuring that no one was harmed," said David Posner, the organization’s director of strategic performance, according to a blurb. Posner further thanked "federal and local law enforcement for their quick and thorough response today." The JCC Association said it was working with the Secure Community Network, which focuses on security for Jewish institutions throughout North America, and the Department of Homeland Security to determine the source of the calls. In Britannia, the Jewish Chronicle daily reported on its website that threats were telephoned in to schools in Roehampton, Ilford and Brent, all in London. According to UK Jewish Chronicle, at one Jewish elementary school, pupils were told to go into the "sleeping lions" position -- a safety precaution used in emergency situations. Other schools went into lock-down preventing anyone from entering or leaving the premises. Pupils were not evacuated from any of the UK schools. The Metropolitan Police said in a statement that "police were alerted at around 10:30 a.m. on Monday, 9 January, to phone calls made to schools in Roehampton, Ilford and Brent, in which bomb threats were made." "Police officers attended the schools. All three incidents were stood down a short time later. An investigation into the threat will be conducted." The Community Security Trust, the organization that oversees security for British Jewry, put out a national alert. "A small number of Jewish schools across the country received bomb threats, as did a small number of non-Jewish schools," the CST said. "The Jewish schools followed security procedures, and CST and police immediately responded. All of the sites have been searched, and declared safe and secure. CST thanks school staff, pupils and parents for their calm response to these calls." | |
| Posted by:trailing wife |
| #7 The puppy just wanted to nuzzle him. Or not. The attack seemed to puzzle him: "Yo, whuffo my hustle Offends this Jack Russell? I'm BLM, biaaatch, not Muslim!" |
| Posted by: Zenobia Floger6220 2017-01-10 19:57 |
| #6 There's a difference? |
| Posted by: Pappy 2017-01-10 17:38 |
| #5 Muzzies or BLM? |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2017-01-10 10:07 |
| #4 Must be that feared anti-Muzzie backlash we always hear about? |
| Posted by: Frank G 2017-01-10 09:16 |
| #3 Bet SD would fare pretty well. I always wonder whether the cops could cut through the block, or would they have to run around the corner. And then there are the Marines a couple of minutes away, theoretically, at least. Shoot, if you picked the right day you could have the Blue Angels fly over. Not the worst place in the world. Sometimes I kinda like it. |
| Posted by: Zorba Gray3403 2017-01-10 04:36 |
| #2 We smell them coming a mile away and will stop and frisk them way before they make it near the Prez. |
| Posted by: newc 2017-01-10 01:34 |
| #1 Inauguration Day may turn out to be quite a spectacle. I smell the winds of insurrection. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2017-01-10 00:39 |