SOUTH FULTON, Ga. — The South Fulton Police Department says rumors that several schools in the area would receive bomb threats Tuesday morning are not credible.
At least one of the schools, Feldwood Elementary, is serving as a polling location for Election Day, and police told 11Alive it was not evacuated as officers conducted a sweep. 11Alive's Liza Lucas on scene reported people continued going in and out of the building.
Authorities specified that no actual threats were received by any elementary schools, and officers were immediately sent to multiple campuses to make sure things were safe.
South Fulton Police said, at this time, they do not believe the threats are credible. However, police acknowledged that many school locations mentioned in these rumors are also polling sites, potentially making them the target of bad actors trying to cause panic.
Later Tuesday morning, Fulton County election officials said there were five non-credible threats in the county. There were interruptions at least two sites for 30 minutes each as they were evacuated, the officials said, and both are now operational again and secure.
Officials added they are working to obtain a court order to extend voting hours at those two locations, both in Union City. They were Etris-Darnell Senior Center and C.H. Gullatt Elementary School.
In a full statement, South Fulton Police said:
This morning, Fulton County School Police received information indicating that several schools were allegedly going to receive bomb threats around 8:15 a.m. While no threats have been received at any elementary schools, officers were immediately dispatched to conduct precautionary sweeps of multiple campuses to ensure staff safety.
In collaboration, the City of South Fulton Police Department deployed additional response teams to assist in securing the campuses that raised concerns. At this time, we do not believe these threats are credible. However, given that many of these school locations are also polling sites, we recognize the potential for further attempts by bad actors to cause panic and disruption.
Feldwood Elementary School and poling locations have not been evacuated and was swept as a precaution. Nothing suspicious was found.
Our priority is to maintain a safe and orderly environment for both staff and voters. We will continue using our additional resources to ensure minimal disruption throughout the day. We encourage the public to remain calm and vigilant, and we appreciate the community’s cooperation as we work to safeguard our schools and community spaces.
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