Bomb threats phoned into two Jewish schools in Brooklyn minutes apart triggered evacuations at both campuses Friday morning, prompting Emergency Service Units and K9 teams to respond at both locations before police confirmed no injuries.
According to News12 Brooklyn, the Yeshivah of Flatbush Joel Braverman High School, located at 1609 Ave. J, received a threatening call at approximately 9:54 a.m. Six minutes later, the United Talmudical Academy of Williamsburg, at 590 Bedford Ave., got a similar call, NYPD said. Emergency Service Units and K9 teams were dispatched to both locations, and police reported no injuries at either scene, per the same account.
At the Flatbush campus, NYPD officers were on hand as students boarded school buses after the evacuation, the outlet reported. In Williamsburg, the block near the United Talmudical Academy was taped off and firetrucks arrived on scene following the call, per the report. News12 said it had contacted the New York City Department of Education and the School Safety Agency, both of which were awaiting response at the time of publication.
Police Respond to Threats at Both Schools
Founded in 1927 by Joel Braverman, Yeshivah of Flatbush is a Modern Orthodox school. The United Talmudical Academy is part of the Satmar community's school system in Williamsburg, according to a 2014 report from VINnews.
Part of a Recurring Pattern Across Brooklyn Schools
Friday's calls came just three days after two public middle schools in Brooklyn — I.S. 201 and I.S. 239 — were evacuated following phoned-in bomb threats that NYPD Emergency Service Units and K9 teams searched and declared unfounded, as reported by BKReader.
What False Reports Can Mean Legally
Under New York Penal Law § 240.60, falsely reporting an explosion, fire, or hazardous release on school grounds is classified as Falsely Reporting an Incident in the First Degree, a Class D felony carrying a potential penalty of up to seven years in prison, according to the New York State Senate's open legislation records.
The New York City Department of Education and the School Safety Agency had not responded to News12's inquiries about the Friday, October 9 calls to the Flatbush and Williamsburg schools as of publication. Hoodline has tracked similar bomb threats disrupting schools elsewhere in the country in recent days.
