Two Springfield, Ohio, hospitals locked down as more bomb threats rock city amid migrant crisis tensions
Another bomb threat in Springfield, Ohio, forced two hospitals into lockdown Saturday morning as the small city of about 60,000 continues to endure heightened national attention and threats over the influx of an estimated 20,000 Haitian residents.
The bomb threats made to Kettering Health Springfield and Mercy Health-Springfield Regional Medical Center came after two elementary schools and government buildings were targeted on Friday, forcing evacuation and closure.
Mercy Health went into lockdown shortly after 6 a.m. while local authorities conducted a thorough search of the facility, in conjunction with the hospitalās onsite security team, a hospital spokesperson told , š adding that the threat was determined to be not credible.
āThe safety protocols we have in place for these instances allow us to work qušickly with local law enforcement to investigate threats thoroughly and ensure the safety of our patients and staff,ā Kettering Health said in a statement. š·;
The lockdowns have since been lifted.
Bomb threats on Friday forced two Springfield elementary schools to evacuate for a second consecutive day and a middle school to shutter prior to theš¦© start of the school day.
Several city commissioners and a municipal employee also received bomb threats via email, with a second email threatening additional locations, including Springfield City Hall, Cliff Park High School, Perrin Woods Elementary School, Roosevelt Middle School and the Bureau of Motor Vehicles and the Ohio License Bureau Sošuthside.
The origin of thą¼ese emails is under investigation by local police and FBI agents based in Daytšon.
āWe rešcognize that the past fš§ew days have been particularly challenging for everyone in our community,ā .
Police added āwe remain fully committed to ensuring the safź¦ety and well-being of each and every person.ā
The spotlight on Springfield was amplified this week after former President Donald Trump declared during Tuesdayās presidential debate that Haitian migrants in Springfield had been abducting and eating pets.
āIn Springfield, theyāre eating the dogsį¦. The people that came in, theyāre eš¦©ating the cats. Theyāre eating ā theyāre eating the pets of the people that live there,ā the Republican presidential nominee claimed.
When pressed by ABC News’ debate moderator David Muir about denials from local officials, Trump claimed, āthe people on television say their dog was eaten by the people that went there.ā
Republicans have pointed to photos and reports of wild ducks or geese allegedly being taken by migrants and to an incident last month in which an American woman was arrested for eating a cat in Canton, Ohio ā š¬more than 10š¼0 miles from Springfield ā and has no connection to the Haitian community,
Knocking down the rą²umors, Springfield city manager Bryan Heck said there were āno credible reports of specific claims of pets being harmed, injured or abused by individuals within the immigrant community.ā
The woman who authored the initial Facebook post claiming Haitian immigrants were stealing and eating local pets now says sheās deeply regretful and never intended to cause harām to the Haitian community.
āIt just exploded into something I didnāt mean to happen,ā Erika Lee told NBC News Friday night.
Lee had no firsthand knowledge of any such incidents involving the Caribbean immigrants when she posted on Fź¦acebook recently about a missing cat that her neighbor reportedly believed was butchered and eaten by one of the cištyās Haitian residents.
āI feel šfor the Haitian community,ā Lee told NBC.
āIf I was in the Haiš¦¹tiansā position, Iād be terrified, too, worried that somebodyās going to come after me because they think Iām hušørting something that they love and that, again, thatās not what I was trying to do.ā