Children across Springfield, Ohio, arrived at school Tuesday morning to the sight of state troopers, deployed by the governor after a wave of bomb scares rattled the community.
Gov. Mike DeWine announced Monday that he was sending the state police to the city to reassure the community that the schools were safe and to avoid the evacuations of threatened schools that have disrupted learning over the last week.
At Snowhill Elementary, Trooper Andrew Sliwoski stood outside the building. “We are happy to be here to help, “ he said. “It’s unfortunate, though, that we have to be here.”
Dan Persinger, 37, who had just dropped off his two children at Snowhill, said he appreciated the police presence. “Tension has been high, and people are nervous,” Persinger said.
The threats began last week after Donald Trump mentioned Springfield during the presidential debate, repeating a baseless rumor that Haitian immigrants in the city were abducting and eating household pets.
Since then, 33 bomb threats have targeted city schools, most recently on Monday when two elementary schools were evacuated because of the threats, DeWine said. City Hall and two hospitals in Springfield have also been threatened.