DeWine sending OSP members to Springfield schools after bomb threats

SPRINGFIELD , Ohio (WDTN) — In less than a week, over 30 bomb threats have been received, all of which were hoaxes.

During an afternoon press conference Monday, Gov. Mike DeWine provided an update on how state and federal organizations are responding to assist Springfield.

From late last week until 3 p.m. on Sept. 15, DeWine reports at least 33 bomb threats were reported. DeWine confirmed all locations subject to threats were searched, and determined to have been hoaxes.

“I want to make that very, very clear,” said DeWine. “None of those had any validity at all.”

To ensure students are safe and have the ability to learn, DeWine is placing 36 members of the Ohio State Highway Patrol’s Field Force into 17 Springfield schools.

Members of the Field Force will begin their day sweeping the building to ensure no threat is present. All 36 officials will remain at the schools daily for the duration of the school day “very visibly.”

According to Andy Wilson, director of Ohio Department of Public Safety, the Ohio Office of Homeland Security will conduct “vulnerability assessments” across Springfield. Sky towers have also been brought into the city for situational awareness to view what is happening in real-time, which the Springfield Police Division now has access to.

Wilson also said bomb dogs will be on-site in Springfield, so authorities don’t have to wait on a canine from another nearby city.

The hoaxes came after recent false claims touted by Republicans, including former President Trump. At the second presidential debate on Tuesday, Trump said migrants are “eating the dogs” in the rural town 45 minutes west of Columbus.

At a campaign stop in Arizona on Thursday afternoon, Trump doubled down on these claims, emphasizing that “20,000 illegal Haitian immigrants have descended on a town of 58,000 people, destroying their way of life.”

City officials and DeWine himself continue to insist that’s not the case.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Fox 8 Cleveland WJW.