SPRINGFIELD, Ohio (AP) — Ohio stationed state police at Springfield schools Tuesday in response to a rash of bomb threats — the vast majority that officials said came from overseas —- after former President Donald Trump and his running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance falsely said legal Haitian immigrants in the small city were eating dogs and cats.
Schools, government buildings and elected officials' homes in Springfield were among the targets of more than 30 hoax threats made last week that forced evacuations and closures. Two more schools had to be evacuated on Monday, and the high school was threatened on Tuesday. Republican Gov. Mike DeWine said a foreign actor was largely responsible, but he declined to name the country.
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Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) speaks at a press conference at Springfield City Hall alongside Ohio State Highway Patrol Colonel Charles Jones, left, Director of the Department of Public Safety Andy Wilson, second from right, and Springfield City School Superintendent Robert Hill, right, in Springfield, Ohio, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Patrick Aftoora-Orsagos)
SPRINGFIELD, Ohio (AP) — Ohio stationed state police at Springfield schools Tuesday in response to a rash of bomb threats — the vast majority that officials said came from overseas —- after former President Donald Trump and his running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance falsely said legal Haitian immigrants in the small city were eating dogs and cats.
A parishioner walks back to his pew after taking Communion during a service in support of the Haitian community at St. Raphael Catholic church in Springfield, Ohio, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Luis Andres Henao)
A Springfield police officer talks to a parishioner after a service in support of the Haitian community at St. Raphael Catholic church in Springfield, Ohio, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Luis Andres Henao)
St Raphael Catholic church parishioners, Berthing Jean Philippe, left, Casey Kelly Rollins and Patrick Joseph embrace after a service in support of the Haitian in Springfield, Ohio, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Luis Andres Henao)
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) speaks at a press conference at Springfield City Hall alongside Ohio State Highway Patrol Colonel Charles Jones, left, Director of the Department of Public Safety Andy Wilson, second from right, and Springfield City School Superintendent Robert Hill, right, in Springfield, Ohio, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Patrick Aftoora-Orsagos)
Even with dozens of Ohio State Highway Patrol officers fanning out to protect the Springfield City School District’s 18 schools, many parents opted to keep their children at home. At one elementary school, some 200 students were absent Tuesday out of a population of 500.
“There’s still a high level of fear due to these unfounded threats and hoaxes that have marred our existence really for going on a week now,” said Robert Hill, chief executive office of the Springfield City School District, appearing at a news conference with DeWine.
Two highway patrol officers have been assigned to each school, a protocol that will be continued “as long as it is necessary,” DeWine said.
“We do not believe there is a real threat out there, but we are certainly not going to take any chances. And we want parents to be assured that their children can be kids and can go to school and can learn,” he said.
State police were visible at a middle school earlier Tuesday, with students dropped off as normal.
Thousands of Haitian immigrants have settled in recent years in the predominantly white, blue-collar city of about 60,000, about 45 miles (70 kilometers) from the state capital of Columbus, where they have found work in factories and warehouses that had been struggling to fill job openings.
The sudden influx has strained schools, health care facilities and city services and driven up the cost of housing — and became a major political issue after Trump amplified debunked internet rumors about pet-eating during last week’s presidential debate. Vance has repeated the false claims.
“We did not have threats seven days ago. We did not have these concerns seven days ago. We did not have these hundreds and hundreds of thousands of dollars spent in Springfield and from the state of Ohio in support seven days ago. We do today,” Springfield Mayor Rob Rue said Tuesday.
Rue did not mention Trump or Vance by name, but called on national leaders to “temper their words and speak truth.”
“That’s what Springfield is asking. We need peace. We need help, not hate,” he said.
Vice President Kamala Harris, answering questions at a forum for Black journalists in Philadelphia on Tuesday, said her heart breaks for Springfield. She said the inflammatory rhetoric about Haitian immigrants is “exhausting and it’s harmful and it’s hateful and and grounded in some age-old stuff that we should not have the tolerance for.”
Vance has not backed down, writing on the social media platform X that “citizens are telling us that there are problems” in Springfield and that he has repeatedly condemned the threats. He accused Harris of ignoring the residents' legitimate concerns and trying to stifle debate.
DeWine's spokesperson, Dan Tierney, said Tuesday that “the vast majority" of the bomb threats have come from foreign countries.” He said a criminal investigation by multiple law enforcement agencies yielded information on the origin of the threats.
Tierney was not more specific on how investigators determined they came from a foreign country, nor would he reveal the name of the country, saying that could encourage additional threats.
“These are largely foreign actors, not folks in the community or another part of the United States,” he said. “We think it’s useful in part because it shows that it’s, you know, false, that it’s safe to send your kids to school. And we’re providing extra patrol support to make sure people feel safe at school.”
Rubinkam reported from northeastern Pennsylvania.
Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine holds a news conference Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, at city hall in Springfield, Ohio, (AP Photo/Patrick Aftoora Orsagos)
A parishioner walks back to his pew after taking Communion during a service in support of the Haitian community at St. Raphael Catholic church in Springfield, Ohio, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Luis Andres Henao)
A Springfield police officer talks to a parishioner after a service in support of the Haitian community at St. Raphael Catholic church in Springfield, Ohio, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Luis Andres Henao)
St Raphael Catholic church parishioners, Berthing Jean Philippe, left, Casey Kelly Rollins and Patrick Joseph embrace after a service in support of the Haitian in Springfield, Ohio, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Luis Andres Henao)
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) speaks at a press conference at Springfield City Hall alongside Ohio State Highway Patrol Colonel Charles Jones, left, Director of the Department of Public Safety Andy Wilson, second from right, and Springfield City School Superintendent Robert Hill, right, in Springfield, Ohio, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Patrick Aftoora-Orsagos)
MASNAA BORDER CROSSING, Lebanon (AP) — Israel expanded its bombardment in Lebanon on Saturday, hitting Beirut’s southern suburbs with a dozen airstrikes and striking a Palestinian refugee camp deep in the north for the first time as it targeted both Hezbollah and Hamas fighters.
Thousands of people in Lebanon, including Palestinian refugees, continued to flee the widening conflict in the region, while rallies were held around the world marking the approaching anniversary of the start of the war in Gaza.
Israel's attack on the northern Beddawi camp killed an official with Hamas’ military wing along with his wife and two young daughters, the Palestinian militant group said. Hamas later said another military wing member was killed in Israeli strikes in Lebanon’s eastern Bekaa Valley. Residents confronted the aftermath: smashed buildings, scattered bricks and stairways to nowhere.
Israel’s military said it killed two senior officials with Hamas’ military wing in Lebanon, where fighting has sharply escalated. Israel has killed several Hamas officials there since the Israel-Hamas war began , in addition to most of the top leadership of the Lebanon-based Hezbollah.
At least 1,400 Lebanese, including civilians, medics and Hezbollah fighters, have been killed and 1.2 million driven from their homes in less than two weeks.
Plumes of smoke dominated the skyline over Beirut’s densely populated southern suburbs, where Hezbollah has a strong presence. Israel says it is targeting Hezbollah commanders and military equipment and aims to drive the militant group away from shared borders so displaced Israelis can return to their homes.
Iranian-backed Hezbollah, the strongest armed force in Lebanon, began firing rockets into Israel almost immediately after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, calling it a show of support for the Palestinians. Hezbollah and Israel's military have traded fire almost daily.
Last week, Israel launched what it called a limited ground operation into southern Lebanon after a series of attacks killed longtime Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and others. The fighting is the worst since Israel and Hezbollah fought a brief war in 2006. Nine Israeli soldiers have been killed in the ground clashes that Israel says have killed 440 Hezbollah fighters.
Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, told reporters in Damascus that “we are trying to reach a cease-fire in Gaza and in Lebanon.” The minister did not name the countries putting forward initiatives, saying they include regional states and some outside the Middle East.
Araghchi spoke a day after the supreme leader of Iran praised its recent missile strikes on Israel and said it was ready to do it again if necessary.
On Saturday evening, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said “Israel has the duty and the right to defend itself and respond to these attacks, and it will do so.” On Lebanon, he said ”we are not done yet."
Israel’s military on Saturday said about 90 projectiles were fired from Lebanon into Israeli territory. Most were intercepted, but several fell in the northern Arab town of Deir al-Asad, where police said three people were lightly injured.
At least six people in Lebanon were killed in more than a dozen Israeli airstrikes overnight and into Saturday, according to the Lebanese state-run National News Agency.
Nearly 375,000 people have fled from Lebanon into Syria in less than two weeks, according to a Lebanese government committee.
Associated Press journalists saw hundreds continuing to cross the Masnaa Border Crossing on foot, crunching over the rubble after Israeli airstrikes left huge craters in the road leading to it on Thursday. Much of Hezbollah’s weaponry is believed to come from Iran through Syria.
“We were on the road for two days,” said Issa Hilal, one of many Syrian refugees in Lebanon who are now heading back. “The roads were very crowded … it was very difficult. We almost died getting here." Some children whimpered or cried.
Other displaced families now shelter alongside Beirut’s famous seaside Corniche, their wind-flapped tents just steps from luxury homes. “We don’t care if we die, but we don’t want to die at the hands of Netanyahu,” said Om Ali Mcheik.
The Israeli military said special forces were carrying out ground raids against Hezbollah infrastructure in southern Lebanon, destroying missiles, launchpads and weapons storage facilities. It said troops dismantled tunnel shafts that Hezbollah used to approach the Israeli border.
Almost 42,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza during the war, according to the Health Ministry there, which does not differentiate between civilian and militant deaths. Almost 90% of Gaza’s residents are now displaced, amid widespread destruction.
Palestinian medical officials said Israeli strikes in northern and central Gaza on Saturday killed at least nine people. One in the northern town of Beit Hanoun killed at least five, including two children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. Another hit a house in the Nuseirat refugee camp, killing at least four, Awda hospital said.
Israel's military did not have any immediate comment but has long accused Hamas of operating from within civilian areas.
An Israeli airstrike killed two children in Gaza City’s Zaytoun neighborhood, according to the civil defense first responders’ group that operates under the Hamas-run government.
Israel's military warned Palestinians to evacuate along the strategic Netzarim corridor in central Gaza that was at the heart of obstacles to a cease-fire deal. The military told people in parts of the Nuseirat and Bureij refugee camps to evacuate to Muwasi, a coastal area it has designated a humanitarian zone.
It’s unclear how many Palestinians are in those areas. Israeli forces have often returned to areas in Gaza to target Hamas fighters as they regroup.
Mroue reported from Beirut, Lebanon, and Lidman from Tel Aviv, Israel.
Find more of AP’s coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war
Billboards with a picture of the late Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah are displayed on a Beirut airport highway, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
People take part in a performance during a protest against Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government and call for the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip by the Hamas militant group, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
A man rides his bicycle next to a billboard with information about upcoming events marking the one-year anniversary of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel, in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
Vehicles drive past a billboard showing the late Iranian Revolutionary Guard Gen. Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in Iraq in a U.S. drone attack in 2020, kissing forehead of slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
People carry their luggage as they cross into Syria on foot, through a crater caused by Israeli airstrikes aiming to block Beirut-Damascus highway at the Masnaa crossing, in the eastern Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
A journalist documents the damaged buildings at the site of an Israeli airstrike, in the village of Temnin, Bekaa Valley, eastern Lebanon, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
People carry their luggage as they cross into Syria on foot, through a crater caused by Israeli airstrikes aiming to block Beirut-Damascus highway at the Masnaa crossing, in the eastern Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
People carry their luggage as they cross into Syria on foot, through a crater caused by Israeli airstrikes aiming to block Beirut-Damascus highway at the Masnaa crossing, in the eastern Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
People carry their luggage as they cross into Syria on foot, through a crater caused by Israeli airstrikes aiming to block Beirut-Damascus highway at the Masnaa crossing, in the eastern Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
A family cross into Syria on foot, through a crater caused by Israeli airstrikes aiming to block Beirut-Damascus highway at the Masnaa crossing, in the eastern Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Families cross into Syria on foot, through a crater caused by Israeli airstrikes aiming to block Beirut-Damascus highway at the Masnaa crossing, in the eastern Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
People carry their luggage as they cross into Syria on foot, through a crater caused by Israeli airstrikes aiming to block Beirut-Damascus highway at the Masnaa crossing, in the eastern Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
A girl who was wounded in an Israeli airstrike, lies in Rayak Hospital, in the village of Rayak, Bekaa Valley, eastern Lebanon, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
People carry their luggage as they cross into Syria on foot, through a crater caused by Israeli airstrikes aiming to block Beirut-Damascus highway at the Masnaa crossing, in the eastern Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
A firefighter works to extinguish a fire after a rocket, fired from Lebanon, hit an area next to a road near Kiryat Shmona, northern Israel, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
Smoke rises from a fire in southern Lebanon as seen from northern Israel, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
A firefighter works to extinguish a fire after a rocket, fired from Lebanon, hit an area next to a road near Kiryat Shmona, northern Israel, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
Israeli Iron Dome air defense system fires to intercept rockets that were launched from Lebanon, in northern Israel, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
Smoke rises following Israeli bombardment in southern Lebanon as seen from northern Israel, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
An Israeli Apache helicopter fires a missile towards southern Lebanon as seen from northern Israel, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
Smoke rises after Israeli airstrikes in Dahiyeh, Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
Smoke rises after Israeli airstrikes in Dahiyeh, Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
