PORTLAND, Ore. — A string of bomb threats were sent to locations all over Oregon on Monday, prompting evacuations and law enforcement sweeps from the coast to the central and eastern parts of the state. The Federal Bureau of Investigation's Portland Field Office reported more than 18 incidents impacting a dozen school districts, three synagogues and two small airports.
At this point. federal investigators believe that none of threats are or were credible, but local law enforcement and officials took them seriously. Across the state, students evacuated several school campuses after districts received threatening emails alluding to bombs or explosives within the buildings.
In Gilliam County, the sheriff's office said threats came into the Arlington and Condon School Districts at around 10 a.m.
"That triggered a chain of events," said Lt. Tory Flory. "We evacuated the school. We did a full search of the school, evaluated what we're looking at, and ultimately determined that it was a hoax threat."
The Gilliam County Sheriff's Office small, Flory said, consisting of just eight full-time sworn officers including the sheriff. After the districts called in the threats Monday, deputies leaned neighboring agencies for help, since their own resources were quickly depleted by the response. The sheriff's office was able to cover both schools, he said, but only because the deputies were able to get help.
"The depletion and distraction of law enforcement and public safety resources is very, very impactful," said Kieran Ramsey, FBI Special Agent in Charge of Oregon. "We are talking about the trauma, the emotional trauma afflicted upon the students, as well as teachers and staff and parents, quite honestly, let alone the depletion of public safety resources. When we see something like that happen, we have first responders literally rushing to a scene, which can create a hazardous situation. Then, we have first responders — because they are dealing with that situation — are unable to deal with other real emergencies that are probably going on."
Ramsey said the Portland FBI office is investigating the Gilliam County incidents, along with several other hoax threats within the state, piecing together the full picture to determine whether they're connected and who was behind them.
"Most, if not all, talked about some kind of bombing or potential bombing," he said. "We do have a number of threats that used very similar, if not the exact same, verbiage. And then in some instances, we have been able to trace back one IP, which is located outside of the United States."
The FBI said there were a number of threats received in Ohio and in Texas on Monday as well. At this point, agents said they're not able to say whether the incidents in Oregon are related to these national threats.
According to the Secure Community Network, Congregations Neveh Shalom and Beth Israel were two of the synagogues that received threats Monday within the Portland area. The Executive Director of Congregation Neveh Shalom released this statement Tuesday:
"At approximately 1:50pm on Monday, December 11 Neveh Shalom received communication from the Secure Community Network that Jewish institutions in Oregon had been targeted with threatening emails. SCN suggested that we review our “spam” folders and found that Neveh Shalom had received a threatening email. SCN has determined these emails to be a hoax and mirror similar emails received by Jewish institutions throughout the country.
Immediately upon notification Neveh Shalom administrators followed the CNS protocols and law enforcement instructions thoroughly. The Portland Police Bureau was contacted and immediately sent out officers to our facility. A complete sweep of our perimeter was performed by law enforcement. At this time, we have no indication of any immediate threat to our community. We are grateful for collaboration with local law enforcement and the Secure Community Network.
The best way to combat hate and to respond to fear in our community is to engage fully in Jewish life."