Schools

 Axios - Schools across the U.S. have been hit by a spate of false threats of violence in recent weeks, forcing them to evacuate or temporarily close...

• In a single afternoon last week, schools in Tennessee, South Carolina, Minnesota, Ohio, Florida, Pennsylvania, Arkansas, Texas, Michigan and Maryland all received threats.
• In Volusia County, Fla., the sheriff's office received 54 tips about potential threats in a single night this month. All the threats turned out to be false.
• In Springfield, Ohio, schools closed over hoax bomb threats following the GOP presidential ticket's amplification of a debunked conspiracy theory that immigrants in the city were eating pets.

Threats of bombs, shooters and other dangers disrupt learning and stir communitywide anxiety about school safety. They also often spur copycat threats.  A single threat can cost between $25,000 and $40,000 to investigate. "Not taking it seriously even one time and it turns out to be truly a bomb, that's just not going to be satisfactory to the community," said Lauren Shapiro, an associate professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. More