Law enforcement characterized the crimes as “swatting,” efforts to provoke unwarranted SWAT team responses. Someone emailed threats of bombings and shootings to schools and Jewish communities across Minnesota. On Wednesday, police received word of the intimidation at such Jewish organizations as Rochester’s B’nai Israel Synagogue, ultimately finding no evidence of danger. So far at least nine Jewish groups and 25 schools received threats. Investigators say they used almost identical language and characterized them as “swatting” wherein someone seeks to harm their target by triggering an unnecessary deployment of a SWAT team. The Minnesota jurisdictions affected by the crimes include Aitkin,...
