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Authorities Respond To Bomb Threats At 13 New Jersey Schools

FORT LEE, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- Authorities in New Jersey are investigating another round of bomb threats made against at least 13 schools in Bergen and Passaic counties.

Several of the schools targeted Wednesday were on spring break.

Only staff members were at Fair Lawn High School when it received a robocall claiming a bomb was in a vehicle in the parking lot. The Bergen County sheriff's bomb squad checked and deemed the area safe.

But Midland Park High School was in session when it received an automated bomb threat Wednesday morning. Students were immediately evacuated and walked to surrounding areas, where they waited for 90 minutes while authorities went through the school with bomb sniffing dogs, CBS2's Meg Baker reported.

The mother of one student, who did not want to show her face on camera, told CBS2 that she was first alerted of the situation by her daughter, not the school.

"At 8:55 this morning my daughter texted me that her school had received a bomb threat alert and that they were evacuating the building," the woman said. "She's just scared, it's a scary world we live in."

Things were back to normal by Wednesday afternoon, but not before giving some families a serious scare.

"Scary. You hear all the things going on in school systems around the country. You always hope it's not in your hometown," Carole Cary said.

Schools in Elmwood Park, Englewood, Paramus, and Fort Lee were also impacted.

This was the fourth mass bomb threat made against schools in Bergen and Passaic counties since January, disrupting class time and sending panic through the communities.

"It's getting to the point of ridiculousness," one father said. "If it's somebody behind a computer trying to play a prank, I don't know if it can be stopped. Obviously harsh punishment should be the mandate if these people are found. The leniency usually leads to them doing it again."

In March, at least seven schools were evacuated in Bergen County.

In February, threats prompted evacuations and lock downs at schools in Teaneck, Hackensack, Mahwah, Bergenfield and Waldwick.

In January, threats were received at schools in Clifton, Bergenfield, Leonia, Tenafly, Teaneck, Garfield, Fair Lawn, Hackensack and Englewood.

New Jersey's Homeland Security, Cybersecurity Director said it's difficult to trace the automated calls.

"These actors are utilizing anonymizing technology to spoof their true location. It's oftentimes even more difficult when they utilize voice over internet protocol communications pathways which spoofs the IP address," Dave Weinstein said.

Midland Park Chief of Police, Michael Powderley said hoaxes like this are a major disruption, especially in a small town.

"For Midland Park this is the first one we've received. We've trained, and we've prepared, but this is the first time we've actually had to have everyone respond," he said, "I've sat back and listened to how the state prosecutor's office is trying to get a handle on these automated systems. I know they're working on it, and hopefully we will get some sort of resolution to it, but so far it's continuing."

New Jersey Homeland Security says the penalties for calling in a false bomb threat or "swatting" have been increased. If caught those guilty could face 10 years in prison and be responsible for the cost of the law enforcement response.

The Bergen County Prosecutor's Office is investigating all of the recent threats called in over the past few months.

 

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