A Wednesday morning bomb threat led to the evacuation of Hilton Schools. After spending half a day searching all school buildings and the superintendent’s home with bomb-sniffing dogs, no explosives or suspicious objects were found.
Superintendent Casey Kosiorek told an afternoon news conference that the threat mentioned a book in the school library called “This Book is Gay” and accused school employees of grooming children. He calls it a hate crime. Kosiorek says concerns about the book were raised at a recent school board meeting.
A robocall to parents in the Hilton Central School District said a pipe bomb threat had been made against all buildings in the district. Parents were advised to pick up their children from school. Children were held on board buses outside the schools until parents or guardians could arrive for them. Schools were closed for the rest of the day. They reopened on Thursday with extra security in the form of Monroe County Sheriff’s Deputies at each school building.
The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the anonymous threat that was emailed to local media outlets about 8:30 in the morning. It said bombs had been placed at all Hilton schools and the superintendent’s home. The district followed its protocols to evacuate about 5,000 students and employees so bomb squads could search the buildings.