Hilton schools continue classes and afterschool activities after second bomb threat

UPDATE: All afterschool activities will continue and classes have resumed at the Hilton Central School District after receiving a second email bomb threat on Friday, similar to the email sent on Wednesday.

The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office deemed the threat not credible but searched buildings with dog units in an abundance of caution, once again finding no bombs. The district was notified of the email around 7:20 a.m.

Both email threats claimed bombs were placed in multiple buildings. The new email also said that Molotov cocktails would be thrown into the district’s office. Notably, the email said “we will continue to bomb your school” even though no bombs were found on Wednesday.

Sheriff’s Office Captain Pat Rojas said they haven’t yet found any local suspects of sending the threat but they’re continuing to investigate.

The first email said the motive for the threat was a book, titled This Book is Gay, which some parents want to ban from the Hilton school libraries. Casey Kosiorek, the superintendent of the district, said at a conference on Friday that the sender could be trying to create divisions in the community.

“I do think that people are watching this situation and taking advantage of the division within the community,” Kosiorek said.

Kosiorek is asking all staff to reach out to members of the school district’s LBGTQ+ students, staff, and family to make sure they feel safe.

“This is public education. That means our doors are open to anyone who lives in our community and it is extremely important that anything we can do, through the literature selection that is optional in our library, to our curriculum that is developed and presented to our students, that students of all different backgrounds, origins, and identification feel welcomed,” he said.

You can see the full conference with Kosiorek and Rojas here:

HILTON, N.Y. — Hilton CSD schools are either on lockout or delayed on Friday after another email threat, similar to the one on Wednesday, was sent to local news stations.

School is not canceled and parents should not pick up their students. The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office says all students are safe and they’re searching schools as a precaution.

The Merton Williams Middle School and Hilton High School are on lockout. Students at Northwood Elementary School and Village Elementary School are being held on buses. Quest Elementary School is on a two-hour delay.

The Hilton Central School District says the email threat came from the same IP address as the one on Wednesday. The more recent email isn’t exactly the same as the first email but it makes similar threats. Both went to News10NBC and came from a “mail.ru” address, which is one of the largest email providers in Russia.

Wednesday’s threat, sent around 8:30 a.m., led to the evacuation of all schools in the district. It claimed that pipe bombs were placed in all Hilton schools, the district office, and the superintendent’s house. The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office found no bombs after searching buildings with dogs.

The first threat said the motive was a book, titled This Book is Gay, which some parents want to ban from the Hilton school libraries. The newer threat didn’t mention the book. Instead, it demands the removal of “pornography material”.

Hilton students and parents spoke to News10NBC on Friday about their thoughts about the book and the threats:

Shaun Murphy, parent: “How about if the book is inappropriate you learn to parent? Your parent through it. And if you are not a parent and you’re just a psycho? Move out. Move out of this village,” Murphy said.

Kiernan Murphy, son: “It interferes so much with our day and it just doesn’t make sense. Like all about a book in high school.”

Cameron Mousaw, student: “I think it’s crazy because it just happened the other day and it’s happening again”

Madison Mousaw, student: “This keeps happening I don’t understand why it keeps happening. Like it was over one thing at several times but how come it’s several times?

News10NBC saw patrol cars from the sheriff’s office and dogs at Hilton High School. Our crew spoke to Hilton senior Isabella Smith who said she is mentally exhausted from having to go through this again and her whole family has been feeling the effects.

Isabella says she was sitting in class when she heard the PA system come on and she immediately looked at her friend, concerned about what it could mean. Next thing she knows, the school places students in a hold, meaning they can’t go in the hallways. After that, she says she was informed that any student whose parent called the front office, asking for their child could come and pick them up.

“My first thought is, oh my gosh, there’s another threat. Are we going to leave again? I was calling my mom because I was stressed. Everybody in the room was calling their parents,” Isabella said.

Parents were alerted to the lockout and the delay through a robocall and a message. Here is the message:

“We have received word that the same threat from Wednesday was resubmitted to local news stations again this morning, from the same IP address as Wednesday’s threat. At this time, Monroe County Sheriffs are determining the credibility of the threat. In an abundance of caution and to allow for planning, all Northwood and Village students will be held on their busses in the building bus loops. Quest will be on a two hour delay. Both Merton Williams and the High School are on lockout. We will be in touch with next
steps.”

I can tell you it’s not the exact same email but it is very similar and makes similar threats. It also appears to come from the same email address as the first threat but as we know, email addresses can be spoofed very easily. @news10nbc pic.twitter.com/mFdvaUQh4S

— Jennifer Lewke (@WHEC_JLewke) March 24, 2023

RELATED:

• Students return to Hilton after bomb threat, attendance down 18% at one elementary school (March 23)
• Bomb threat that led to Hilton schools evacuation came from email with Russian domain (March 23)
• Parents meet to discuss controversial book related to bomb threats across Hilton schools (March 22)
• Hilton CSD families express concern about sending kids back to school after bomb threats (March 22)
• Hilton district goes into emergency mode after threats made via emails to media (March 22)
• Hilton Central School District evacuated after bomb threat, no bombs found (March 22)

Hilton parent Shaun Murphy on the threat to his school: “How about if the book is inappropriate you learn to parent? You parent through it. And if you are not a parent and you’re just a psycho? Move out. Move out of this village.” @news10nbc pic.twitter.com/RahYMEdVbe

— Berkeley Brean (@whec_bbrean) March 24, 2023