Fake Bomb Threats Reported around East Texas

EAST TEXAS � Bomb threats came in to Smith County and neighboring school districts on Wednesday. All turned out to be fake. The calls came in concerning the Smith County Courthouse and schools in Athens, Frankston and Jacksonville.

Wednesday afternoon around 1:00, a call of a bomb closed the Smith County Courthouse and Courthouse Annex. The caller claimed the bomb would go off at 1:20. There was no explosion and no bomb was found.

Officials with Athens ISD say all schools in the district were completely evacuated Wednesday due to a bomb threat. The Athens Police Department received a call Wednesday morning from a person saying a bomb was at every campus. School officials said while they had no reason to believe it was nothing more than a terrible prank, they took the matter very seriously. Parents were given instructions on where to pick up their kids, and school buses ran on normal schedules.

Shortly before 11:15 Wednesday morning, a caller claimed there was a bomb on the campus of Frankston High School. The school was evacuated and the entire district was put on lockdown. Officers went through every building and found no bomb.

Also Wednesday afternoon, there was a bomb threat at Jacksonville High School. School officials cleared the building and the combed the facility for any bomb. Nothing was found. Classes should resume at the regular time Thursday.

Area law enforcement agencies are continuing their investigation of the incidents. They are trying to determine if there was a connection between the four threats or if it was just a coincidence.