“All clear!” says police, after St. Louis, Philadelphia JCCs receive unfounded online threats

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Jordan Palmer, Chief Digital Content Officer

The St. Louis Jewish Community Center has received the “all-clear” from local law enforcement after receiving an online threat Wednesday morning. The JCC in Philadelphia also received a threat, according to an ADL security alert email, and is “all clear” as well.

“At this time, the nature of the bomb threats are unknown and the relevant law enforcement entities have been notified of the threats. The threats reported came through online contact forms. Both threats contain similar language, both starting with “Ill be there at 12 to bomb your facility you ukranian jew filth i got bombs there now {sic},” wrote the ADL in its email.

In a statement from the St. Louis JCC, other community organizations, including a hospital, also received threats.

“Sadly, we have been through this before, however, that experience has equipped us to handle this situation with, we hope, minimal disruption to our J family,” wrote Lynn Wittels, President & CEO of the St. Louis Jewish Community Center.

Law Enforcement Quick To React

Locally, the threat was believed to be unfounded, and all buildings remained open. Local and federal law enforcement responded within minutes and quickly determine the threat was not real and issued an “all-clear” statement.

“Many thanks to our campus security team, the police, the canine units, and the FBI for their attention and guidance this morning,” said Wittels. “With their help, the help of our staff, and the cooperation of everyone in our buildings, we were able to operate without interruption while a thorough search was conducted.”

Of note, the entire staff of the St. Louis JCC regularly trains for incidents like this, as well as a myriad of other situations.

“This is why we do it,” said Wittels.