FBI investigating online threat that shut two Indiana schools

Two Indiana school districts closed on Thursday (December 17) amid reported threats directed at schools there, while large school districts in Texas and Florida said they would hold classes after deeming threats made against them to not be credible.

School officials in the Indiana cities of Danville and Plainfield cited concerns about the safety of students and staff in announcing the closures of schools, which comes two days after officials in Los Angeles canceled classes for 640,000 public school students over a threatened attack with bombs and guns that was later deemed a hoax.

New York City public schools received a nearly identical threat but dismissed the message and kept schools open.

“A threat has been directed to the high school, and the safety and security of all students is our highest priority,” officials in Plainfield, Indiana, said on their website, adding they were working with public safety officials in an ongoing investigation.

School districts covering Dallas, Houston, Miami and Fort Lauderdale said they had received threats of violence similar to those made against schools in New York City and Los Angeles this week but had no plans to close on Thursday.