Students return to Hilton after bomb threat, attendance down 18% at one elementary school
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HILTON, N.Y. – Students return to school in Hilton today.
More than 5,000 students and staff were evacuated Wednesday after a bomb threat was emailed to News10NBC and other local media outlets.
The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office did not share new information on its investigation into who sent the email.
If they catch the person or people, they’re facing the prospect of a more serious crime because of a law written specifically for what happened in Hilton.
The law increases the penalty for threatening to harm a group of people at school.
“And the important thing is that it’s not that there has to be a bomb. It’s the treat itself that is a heightened level of crime,” said State Assemblyman Harry Bronson.
Bronson was one of the lawmakers that worked to get the law passed. What happened in Hilton is now a Class B misdemeanor with up to 90 days in jail or a year probation. The law was inspired by violence in or directed at schools.
“They are happening far too often, threats to our school districts,” Bronson said.
The bomb threat came from an email that ended in “.ru.” That’s a Russian domain. When we searched the sender, it directed us to a city in eastern Russia, near Alaska. It is possible anyone could have created the email.
Brean: “Do you think they’re going to catch the person who did this?”
Hilton school Superintendent Casey Kosiorek: “I’m hopeful. I’m very hopeful. I think this person needs to be held accountable.”
Casey Kosiorek is the Hilton superintendent.
He evacuated the schools and closed them after the threat. Students returned today.
Brean: “How’s your attendance today?”
Kosiorek: “Attendance is decent. At the high school level we’re down a percent. At the elementary level we’re seeing a little greater absence. So one of our elementary schools is down about 18% in attendance and that’s based on the fear and anxiety that families are dealing with because of what this person has done.”
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