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New York City schools receive same threat as Los Angeles schools, officials say it's non-credible

New York officials quickly deemed the threat a hoax

Justin Carissimo
New York
,Massoud Hayoun
Tuesday 15 December 2015 13:00 EST
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A police officer tapes off the entrance near the Edward Roybal High School in Los Angeles.
A police officer tapes off the entrance near the Edward Roybal High School in Los Angeles. (Richard Vogel/Associated Press)

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New York City schools recieved a non-credible terror threat, similar to the electronic threat that closed down all Los Angeles public schools on Tuesday.

New York Police Department Commissioner Bill Bratton said that Los Angeles Unified School District officials had not consulted with the Los Angeles Police Department before issuing the cancellations. Commissioner Bratton joked that "the instagator may be a fan of Homeland," adding that the hoax appeared to mimic episodes of the hit television series.


Mayor Bill de Blasio agreed with Commissioner Bratton by saying it's important to keep a cool head while responding to supposed threats.

“Based on the information that we have, this was a very generic piece of writing sent to a number of different places simultaneously and also written in a fashion that suggests that it’s not plausible, and we’ve come to the conclusion that we must continue to keep our school system open,” he said during a press conference. “In fact, it’s very important not to overreact in situations like this.”

The threat that prompted the shutdown at LA schools was sent to a board member traced back to an IP address in Frankfurt, Germany, Reuters reports.

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