Springfield mayor seeks ‘help not hate’ as more bomb threats close schools, offices

According to the city, an email that was sent at 7:21 a.m., “targeted several City Commissioners and a city employee.” A second email at 7:45 a.m. targeted several schools as well at the Bureau of Motor Vehicles and the Ohio License Bureau Southside. All affected buildings were evacuated according to the city.

“In response to these threats, local and regional law enforcement, along with our public safety partners, have acted promptly,” city officials said. “We are committed to the safety and well-being of our community and take all threats to public safety with the utmost seriousness.”

Springfield officials and police are working with the Dayton FBI office to “determine the origin of the email threats.”

Springfield Mayor Rob Rue said the threats and negative attention the city has received are distracting officials from doing their jobs effectively, resulting in increased personnel, overtime and safety concerns.

Rue said the community is hurting right now and needs “help, not hate.” He said the community needs to unify instead of divide, and he questioned the goal of people who are spreading hatred.

“There are a lot more people that are for the community than against,” Rue said.

Perrin Woods and Snowhill Elementary students were evacuated from their buildings to a different district location after receiving information from the Springfield Police Division, school district officials confirmed.

At mid-morning, the district was in the process of a controlled release to dismiss students to their parents.

Roosevelt Middle School also closed, before the beginning of the school day, after the district received information from the police division. Some parents who were arriving at Roosevelt with their students were turned away, according to reports.

There were no additional threats made to other school district buildings, officials said.

Cliff Park High School, a Springfield charter school, also evacuated its building, Cliff Park officials said. Second session students who attend from 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. will work remotely. First sessions students attend from 7:30 a.m. to noon.

Clark County government officials said their buildings were open for business Friday.

On Thursday, several city, county and school buildings around Springfield were closed because of a bomb threat to multiple facilities throughout the city.

This included City Hall, the Bureau of Motor Vehicles, the Springfield Driver’s Exam Station, Ohio License Bureau on the south side, Springfield Academy of Excellence and Fulton Elementary School. They were all cleared using explosive-detecting canines.

The Springfield school district on Thursday had evacuated students from Fulton. Parents were told to pick up their children from Springfield High School, where they had been taken. Fulton was evacuated based on information the district received from the State Fire Marshal.