Union Public Schools Receive Bomb Threats Again

On Friday, Union Public Schools informed parents that schools were being threatened with bomb threats.

The district sent calls and an email:

Hi, this is a message for Union parents.

We are once again dealing with bomb threats naming multiple school sites – Ochoa, Peters, Andersen and Darnaby Elementary and Union High School. We are continuing to work directly with the Tulsa Police Department. The threats appear to be similar in nature to previous threats that were deemed not to be credible.

The school district has already received several bomb threats this year.

Previous Bomb Threats For Several Schools, Buildings Received In Oklahoma

Anonymous senders have again sent bomb threats to several locations across Oklahoma on August 27, expanding from the previous target on schools in the Union district.

Chris Payne with Union Public Schools said classes are open on Monday despite the threats and that the school is working with police and other agencies.

Payne says these threats are for every airport, school, university, store, mall, bus station, highway, police station, courthouse and city halls in Oklahoma.

He specified that no Union schools were listed in this threat, but Oklahoma schools in general.

Here's the full statement released by Union Public Schools Sunday evening:

As anticipated, we have received additional bomb threats with additional locations identified but NO Union schools listed.

The latest threat is made towards every Oklahoma school, airport, university, store, mall, bus station, highway, police station, courthouse, and city halls.

Again, there are NO specific Union schools listed and the threat is similar to those received in the past week.

We are continuing to work with the Tulsa Police Department, the Broken Arrow Police Department, and other agencies.

All Union schools will be open tomorrow at their normal times. As a precaution, all buildings will be swept by Union security, administrators, building engineers and other staff.

Thank you.

The threats continue a trend for schools in the Union Public School District, which have been targeted by bomb threats from anonymous senders since last Tuesday, Aug. 22.

The following message was sent to parents and guardians on Friday morning.

We have received an additional bomb threat this morning that was sent to a local news station, and it includes the following schools:

Ochoa Elementary

Peters Elementary

Andersen Elementary

Moore Elementary

The threat is similar to those received in the past few days. We are continuing to work with the Tulsa Police Department, the Broken Arrow Police Department, and the authorities. We will have additional security today at the sites named.

Tanisha Tennial is a single mom with two kids attending Ochoa Elementary. She says a week of bomb threats is frustrating and scary. She says she's keeping her kids home from school as long as the threats keep happening.

Tulsa Police Chief Wendell Franklin says police are investigating the threats.

"It doesn't matter how crazy the threat may be. We take those seriously, we investigate those, and we take the appropriate action."

Widespread Concern As Union Elementary Targeted By Repeated Bomb Threats

Union Public Schools leaders say they are fed up.

Ochoa Elementary School has been the target of bomb threats, now four days in a row.

The district believes the threats could be connected to this TikTok video, posted by a staff member at Union, talking about pushing her woke agenda on kids. She clarifies in her caption that by woke agenda, she means teaching kids to be kind and love reading.

The Twitter (X) account “Libs of TikTok” reposted the video, and so did State Superintendent Ryan Walters. Walters says he wants to put a stop to woke ideology in schools. The district says the threats have been a huge distraction for staff and students.

The district says the threats have been coming in the form of emails sent to some media outlets. Different sites in the district were mentioned in each email, but all three of them included Ellen Ochoa Elementary School near 31st and Garnett.

"We are working very hard to ensure a completely safe environment. We are working with all of our local authorities and even national authorities, the FBI is involved at this point, to ensure that, one, we find out who is responsible for this and make sure it stops, and two, to ensure that our buildings and our sites are completely safe," said John Federline. He’s the Deputy Superintendent for Union Public School.

He says he hopes the person, or people responsible for the threats, will be brought to justice.

"When somebody calls in, or emails in, in this case, and threatens a bomb threat against little kids, I mean, come on, that's completely out of hand, it's completely outrageous. I would hope all of us in the Tulsa community and the state of Oklahoma would be completely against this," said Federline.

He says the district has brought in more security, and it is working with police to make sure these threats are taken seriously and those responsible are found.

"Parents always have the right to take their kids out of school if they feel that it's an unsafe environment. We encourage that. We are having school at this time. We are working with authorities, and at this time, we have no reason to cancel school or shut schools down," said Federline.

After thorough searches all three days, no explosives were found. The district says it’s working with the police and FBI to find out who is responsible.