(FreedomBeacon.com)- Last week a series of bomb threats were made against Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) throughout the country and the FBI reported they have identified the people they believe may be responsible.
The threats, which occurred both on Monday and Tuesday of last week are being investigated by the ATF and the FBI as possible hate crimes.
At least fourteen HBCUs reported receiving bomb threats on Tuesday, February 1, the first day of Black History Month. One of those, Howard University in Washington DC, also received a bomb threat on Monday.
In total over twenty bomb threats were called in to HBCUs and other institutions, including Howard University and Jackson State University in Mississippi.
In a statement on Tuesday, the FBI said it was aware of the threats and was working with local and federal law enforcement to investigate the matter.
On Wednesday, the FBI confirmed it was treating the threats as hate crimes and said the FBI takes the threats “with the utmost seriousness” even though no explosive devices had been found at any of the locations.
Calling the bomb threats “the highest priority for the Bureau,” the FBI said over twenty field offices across the country were involved in the investigation.
During the White House press briefing on Monday, press secretary Jen Psaki described the bomb threats as “disturbing” and said the president was made aware of the situation and the White House was in contact with “interagency partners” about the matter.
In early January, eight HBCU schools received similar bomb threats, but, as in these instances, no suspicious packages or explosive devices were found.
On Wednesday, it was reported that the FBI had identified at least five persons of interest in connection to threats.
According to an FBI official familiar with the investigation, the persons of interest were connected to the spoofed calls emanating from a fake telephone number from which the bomb threats were made.
According to NBC Washington, an unnamed law enforcement official described these persons of interest as “tech-savvy minors” scattered throughout the country.
