PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — State police say a string of bomb threats that targeted schools in three Rhode Island communities left an electronic trail leading to Russia.
The Providence Journal reports that Rhode Island State Police were able to trace the automated phone calls received by some schools in Newport, Middletown and Warwick last week to St. Petersburg, Russia.
Col. Stephen O’Donnell says investigators would require a certain type of cooperation that isn’t provided by Russian authorities to track the culprits.
The computer-generated “robocall” shields the identity of the caller. It’s the same type of automated technology that politicians and telemarketers use to disseminate messages.
Newport Public Schools Superintendent Colleen Burns Jermain says the threats are particularly disturbing because they set out to create “fear and disruption.”
