(WENY) -- After multiple schools in the Elmira City School District increased security on Monday, September, 16th after discovering an online threat, school districts across the Southern Tier are reacting to the news. While law enforcement confirmed the threats are non-credible, there will be extra officers on-site at all schools on Monday and Tuesday.
"I think the big thing is is understand that when those posts are made, we become aware of them very quickly," says Chemung County Sheriff Bill Schrom. "It is brought to our attention, you gotta remember, law enforcement has children in school, they have spouses or other loved ones that work in the school setting, very, very quickly they're spread as it comes to our attention. Once it does, we take it extremely serious, we look into it very thoroughly, we make sure that there's appropriate staff from the law enforcement avenue within the schools when these kids are coming in just to give them the assurances if we felt anything was credible you know or there was an identified threat we would be in touch with the school district."
ECSD's Superintendent addressed the threats that began on Snapchat around midnight Monday morning.
Horseheads Central School District notified families of a "swatting hoax" affecting schools across New York State, including Horseheads.
Parents are being encouraged to talk to their children about reporting any safety concerns.
A separate statement from the Office of the Sheriff of Steuben County told WENY News in a media release, that the threats are being investigated and do not appear to target local schools or pose any danger. Authorities are monitoring the situation, emphasizing that school remains one of the safest places.
Nationally, since the beginning of the school year, schools across the county have been targeted in these types of hoax threats. Some of them have increased security while others have closed down while an investigation is underway.
"It's a class D felony to make certain comments and threats such as these, you know, especially when they get posted, they get much more attention. They're specific to a school and or a time, that kind of stuff. So you know each one is dealt with individually. I can tell you that it doesn't matter if one one come in or 20 come in. We treat them all as if they're credible until we deem otherwise. So you look into them, you establish contact with the source. If you know who that source is. We do home visits to talk to parents, to check the homes, to make sure that the children don't have access to weapons, all those kinds of things, just to do our due diligence um to keep you know um these schools safe," says Sheriff Schrom.
The last school shooting happened on Wednesday, Septmeber 4th at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia. Four people were killed and nine more were injured. As of September 6th, there have been 46 school shootings documented in 2024 alone.
Since Columbine in 1999, there have been 417 school shootings.
Police say safety remains a top priority.