The Dallas school district will open today after teachers at several schools received a terroristic threat via email. Dallas police conducted a sweep of Pinkston High School and Martinez Elementary. They found no credible threat, but the district says there will be increased police presence today on all campuses.
The threat was similar to those received in the Los Angeles and New York school districts earlier this week.
Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings is expected to address the issue in a press conference at 7:30 a.m.
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District officials say a similar emailed threat was sent to staff at Houston and Miami public schools.
More from Dallas ISD:
Upon receiving the email correspondence, district officials were immediately notified and Dallas ISD police activated its emergency response protocol. Dallas ISD began working closely with law enforcement agencies to verify the safety of all schools, particularly Pinkston High School and Martinez Elementary School. At 2:20 a.m., Dallas Police found no credible threat and released the buildings back to the district. Our schools have been deemed safe and the district will be open for normal business today. Psychological Services staff, in addition to being on location at both Pinkston High School and Martinez Elementary, will be available should any student or staff member in the district need assistance.
Dallas Police Chief David Brown said the police are cooperating with federal authorities to trace the source of the threats.
“We need to make sure that we don’t overreact to fear,” he said. “This is not necessarily just a hoax we’re discounting. We have to take this threat seriously, and we have to pursue any and all leads to hold someone accountable for these threats through email.”
Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings dismissed the idea of a copycat threat.
“I’m more concerned about a systemic scare tactic through cities in the United States,” he said. “We’re going to be relying on the FBI to help us differentiate between copycats and a trend.”
