Violent Threats Mount Against Miami, Houston Schools

School districts in Houston and Miami said on Wednesday they had received threats of violence similar to those made against schools in New York City and Los Angeles this week, but there were no plans to cancel class.

In a statement on its website, the Houston Independent School District said police were sweeping campuses as a precaution, but the threat did not appear to be credible.

Class was to be held as normal on Thursday for its 213,000 students, the district said.

Miami-Dade County Public Schools also received a threat late Wednesday, according to a statement on the district’s website. After consultation with state and federal law enforcement, it was deemed “less than credible,” it said.

The new round of threats came a day after the Los Angeles Unified School District, the second largest in the nation, abruptly canceled class for its more than 640,000 students after receiving an email that said an attack with guns and bombs was planned at multiple locations. The threat was later dismissed as a hoax.

New York City public schools received a nearly identical threat but dismissed the message and kept its schools open.

Parents in Houston were asked to be vigilant should they see anything out of the ordinary on Thursday morning, the district’s statement said.

Miami, which also has no plans to cancel classes, said parents were encouraged to send their children to regularly scheduled classes. {eoa}