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Vermont authorities investigate rash of school bomb threats.Vermont authorities investigate rash of school bomb threats NEWPORT, Vt.(WCAX) - Several Vermont schools received bomb threats on Wednesday morning, in what appears to be a swatting incident, according to police.Incidents were reported at schools in Burlington, Newport, Winooski, and Montpelier.“It’s a really low-level type of domestic terrorism, right?It’s just to create fear in communities,” said Jennifer Morrison, Vermont’s public safety commissioner.Local, state, and federal authorities believe the threats are unfounded, and likely related.Morrison says all the calls were similar in nature: a robotic voice reading over an identical script.“I’m grateful that in this day and era, we are able to quickly identify when the script is the same, the voice is the same, et cetera,” Morrison said.Newport Police say they put out an alert around 8:45 a.m.Police cleared the building and later deemed it safe, but the school says students were sent home for the day.First- and second-graders missed out on their field trips.Montpelier Police say 3 local schools received similar threats around 8:30 a.m.: Montpelier High School, Union Elementary School, and The New School.Students went into lockdown while authorities swept the scene.Classes resumed at all schools by 9:30 a.m.In Winooski, police said officers and fire crews investigated, and classes also resumed around 9:30 a.m.The district’s public safety coordinator, Craig Dwyer, says though it’s a scary situation, students and staff are well-trained in emergency protocols.“That’s worrisome that you’d do that to a school with children in it, but our protocols are pretty well established, and the teachers follow them pretty well, that’s the feedback we got from fire and police,“ Dwyer said.Dwyer says during the response, they did not specify to the school community that there was a bomb threat to avoid panic.He says they evacuated calmly and everyone treated it like a drill.The school communicated with parents during and after the evacuation.Police and fire crews swept the building for about half an hour.The school day resumed as usual after that.Morrison says this time of year, swatting incidents can increase: “This type of swatting hoax is, unfortunately, very, very common these days.And it’s more common around the end of the school year or on exam days.You know, things that people might perhaps hope that they get a Ferris Bueller day.” Vermont State Police say all the threats appear unfounded and are under investigation by local and state authorities in coordination with FBI.School officials say everyone is safe and accounted for, and classes will resume as normal tomorrow.Copyright 2026 WCAX.All rights reserved.