Technology

Bomb Threats Shared Electronically Close Schools

Published

11 years ago

April 2, 2015

In this Jan. 13, 2014 file photo, students pass by Seven Lakes High School after being evacuated and released from school for the day after a bomb squad was called to the school after a potentially explosive device was found. (AP Photo/Pat Sullivan, File)

KIMBERLY HEFLING, AP Education Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — Tech-savvy students and others are using smartphone apps, social media and Internet phone services to make anonymous reports of bombs and other threats of violence at schools. The result: school evacuations and police sweeps.

In most cases, such a threat turns out to be a hoax. Still, the use of the modern technologies has made it that much harder to determine if a threat is real and to find the culprit, compared to the past when they were often called in by pay phone or written on bathroom walls.

Just this week, a 16-year-old from Gateway High School in Kissimmee, Florida, was arrested for posting about a bomb threat on Twitter because “she was angry and did not want to go to school,” according to the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office.

School safety experts say the number of such incidents appears to be increasing — as are the complexity of the cases. The latest figures from the National Center for Education Statistics for the 2009-2010 school year show 5,700 such disruptions.

“They send a great deal of fear and panic throughout a community,” said Kenneth Trump, a school safety consultant who is president of National School Safety and Security Services. His group reviewed more than 800 threats reported in the media during the first half of the 2014-2015 school year and found that about one-third were sent electronically using text message, social media, email or other online means.

Complicating matters, the threats aren’t just coming from within school walls or even a school’s neighborhood.

Last fall, Lakota Middle School in Federal Way, Washington, was placed in lockdown and police responded after an email purportedly from the Islamic State group demanded ransom money and threatened to “shoot and kill” every American, according to a police report. A 14-year-old student was arrested after admitting the email had been sent by her online friend “Ryan” after she told him to “swat” her school because she thought it would be funny, police said.

“Swatting” plays off the idea of issuing a threat that draws a SWAT team in response, disrupting activities at the target of the threat. It appears to have originated with pranksters in the online gaming community.

In a separate case, a 14-year-old in western Michigan was ordered by a judge to pay nearly $8,000 in restitution to the Coopersville Area Public Schools and the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office for his involvement in a swatting incident that put schools in lockdown after a caller using computer-based technology made threats against the schools. Authorities say the call was made by a person code-named “Ransom,” whom the teen had met online. “Ransom” is believed to live in the United Kingdom and is suspected in a string of similar incidents from coast to coast, authorities said.

“He will learn from this,” the teen’s father said, according to the Grand Rapids Press in Michigan.

The motivations of the threat makers vary: avoiding a test, revenge or simply to show off. With swatting, a motivation appears to be thrill-seeking, said Capt. Mark Bennett with the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office.

It’s not too difficult for students to figure out how to pull off such an incident, said Justin Cappos, a computer science professor at New York University who studies cybersecurity. “You wander to the wrong parts of the Internet and you can learn how to do it and not get caught,” Cappos said.

With each incident, there’s a risk when authorities respond, said Detective Jerrad Ely, a digital forensics expert with the Mount Vernon Police Department in Washington who has been investigating a bomb threat case against a school in his community. “They could inadvertently get hurt when police are just trying to do their jobs based on the best information that they have,” he said.

Applications such as Burnbook, Afterschool, Yik Yak, Whisper and Kik also have been used by students to make threats anonymously.

In Michigan, Superintendent Timothy Stein of the Flushing Community Schools wrote to parents in December informing them about a posting on Afterschool that said, “Bringing a Gun to School.” The posting had been brought to the high school principal’s attention by a text message; police quickly determined that it was not a credible threat.

“I encourage you to ask you child to stop using this app and remove it from their phone,” Stein said.

Every threat has to be taken seriously even though in most cases the called-in danger is not real, said David Pennington, superintendent of schools in Ponca City, Oklahoma, and president of the AASA School Superintendents Association.

Meanwhile, social media and other electronic means of communication are keeping parents informed about threats. Mindful of past school shootings, they are demanding that children be pulled out of school even as school and law enforcement officials investigate.

“The security of people has been greatly eroded in this country, as you know, just through awful things that have happened,” said Mark Davidson, deputy superintendent at the Federal Way Public Schools.

_____

Follow Kimberly Hefling on Twitter: http://twitter.com/khefling

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Alameda County

OPINION: Argent Materials Oakland CleanTech Community Asset Helps Those In Need

Alameda County Supervisor Lena Tam had this to say about Argent Materials as an Oakland community asset: “Congratulations to Argent Materials and its President and Founder, Bill Crotinger! The company is now fully operational, recycling an impressive 99.99% of concrete and asphalt debris, which helps divert thousands of tons of construction waste from landfills. They are also proud to announce that 50% of their team consists of local hires. In celebration of Thanksgiving, and despite stormy weather last week, the Alameda County Sheriffs, alongside Mr. Crotinger and Argent Materials’ dedicated staff distributed turkeys and pies as a heartfelt gesture of gratitude to the community.”

Published

2 months ago

October 21, 2025

Oakland Post

Photo courtesy Argent Materials, Inc.

Zennie Abraham
CEO, Zennie62Media

Argent Materials, the Oakland business that turns old concrete and asphalt into new construction products, generally goes by “Argent Materials Oakland CleanTech” but should be called “Argent Materials East Oakland CleanTech for The Community”. Here’s why.

First, Argent Materials is located at 8300 Baldwin St, right in the Coliseum Industrial Zone, just a three-minute drive from the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Complex. That’s in East Oakland, and just a city-block walk from the Oakland Coliseum BART Station.

Second, Argent Materials has been a friend to East Oakland and what some, like the members of the Oakland Private Industry Council, would call a “community asset”. In 2024, Argent Materials founder and President Bill Crotinger was named Leader of the Year by the Oakland Private Industry Council (OPIC) “I was humbled and honored to be named Leader of the Year by the Oakland Private Industry Council. Truly an honor. My heartfelt thanks to my friend and mentor Pastor Raymond Lankford and all the wonderful people at OPIC.”

ABI Foundry reports that Argent Materials led a community clean up for the residents and businesses of Russett Street as well as San Leandro Street. An ABI Foundry team member said “Bill Crotinger at Argent Materials spearheaded the initiative to clean San Leandro street, from Hegenburger to 98th Ave. along the side of BART. AB&I enjoyed participating along with Acts Full Gospel C.O.G.I.C (Men of Valor), Good Hope Missionary Baptist Church-Oakland (Reverend Michael Jones) and Argent Materials. You should see how it looks now. It is AMAZING! It takes an ambitious mind to make a difference block by block.”

What Is Cleantech And Why Is It Important to Oakland And Argent Materials?

Clean technology (Clean Tech) refers to products, services, and processes that mitigate negative environmental impacts by increasing energy efficiency, promoting resource sustainability, and minimizing waste and pollution, ultimately contributing to a low-carbon, and more sustainable economy.

What is The Clean Tech of Argent Materials of Oakland?

In Argent Materials’ context, “cleantech” refers to their sustainable business model which includes recycling concrete and asphalt into new aggregate materials, diverting waste from landfills, and using renewable diesel for their fleet to achieve carbon neutrality and protect the environment. This business approach Argent Materials uses aligns with the broader definition of cleantech, which involves products, services, and processes that reduce negative environmental impacts through resource efficiency and environmental protection

Clean Tech, or green tech as Argent Materials of Oakland does it, is defined as any technology that minimizes negative environmental impact by reducing human consumption of natural resources and by promoting more sustainable and efficient resource use.

Argent Materials will continue to be a cleantech community asset to Oakland well into the future.

Stay tuned.

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Activism

Golden State Warriors Program Is Inspiring Next Generation of Female Engineers

Breaking down barriers and biases that deter young girls from pursuing STEAM subjects is essential for creating a level playing field and ensuring equal opportunities for all. By challenging stereotypes and promoting a culture of inclusivity and diversity in STEAM fields, experts believe young girls can be empowered to pursue their interests and aspirations without limitations confidently. Encouraging mentorship, providing access to resources, and celebrating girls’ achievements in STEAM are all crucial steps in creating a supportive environment that fosters success.

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9 months ago

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Front Row: UC Berkeley Steel Bridge Team Back Row: Girls, Inc. Participants. Photo courtesy of the Golden State Warriors.

By Y’Anad Burrell

The Golden State Warriors and e-commerce giant Rakuten are joining forces to inspire the next generation of female engineers through Building STEAM Futures, part of The City Calls campaign.

Organizers say the initiative is founded on the idea that science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics (STEAM) are crucial fields for innovation and progress, and empowering young girls to pursue careers in these areas is more important than ever. Studies consistently show that girls are underrepresented in STEAM fields, resulting in a gender disparity that limits potential and hinders diversity.

On Saturday, March 8, International Women’s Day, the Warriors and Rakuten hosted 20 middle school girls from Girls Inc. of Alameda County at Chase Center’s Above the Rim for a hands-on bridge-building experience. The young girls from Girls, Inc. of Alameda County had an opportunity to design, build and test their own bridge prototypes and learn the fundamentals of bridge construction from the Engineering Alliance and the UC Berkeley Steel Bridge Team.

This STEAM experience for the girls followed the first session in January, where they took a behind-the-scenes tour of the Golden Gate Bridge, learning about its design and construction from industry experts. The City Calls campaign, tipped off with the unveiling the Warriors’ new bridge-themed City Edition jerseys and court design earlier this year.

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Activism

Self-eSTEM Empowers BIPOC Women, Girls in Science, Math

In January 2025, Self-eSTEM will launch digital and generative AI programming, which provides digital literacy and AI literacy training through an entrepreneurial project-based activity. This programming will be a hybrid (i.e. in-person and online). Additionally, thanks to a grant from Comcast, in spring 2025, the organization will have a co-ed series for middle and high school students.

Published

1 year ago

December 9, 2024

Oakland Post

Adamaka Ajaelo. Courtesy photo.

By Y’Anad Burrell
Special to The Post

In a world where technology plays an increasingly central role in all aspects of life, the importance of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) education cannot be overstated. Recognizing the significance of STEM for the future, focusing on young women and girls is a critical step in achieving gender equality and empowering the next generation.

Self-eSTEM, an Oakland-based non-profit organization, was founded by Adamaka Ajaelo, an Oakland native who had a successful corporate career with several Bay Area technology and non-tech companies. Ajaelo boldly decided to step away from these companies to give 100% of her time and talent to the non-profit organization she started in 2014 in the belief that she can change the game in innovation and future STEM leaders.

Over the course of a decade, Ajaelo has provided futurist tech programming to more than 2,000 BIPOC women and girls. The organization has an Early STEM Immersion Program for ages 7-17, Emerging Leaders Workshops for ages 18-25 and volunteer network opportunities for ages 25 and up.

While the organization’s programs center on innovation and technology, participants also gain other valuable skills critical for self-development as they prepare for a workforce future. “Self-eSTEM encourages young women to expand on teamwork, communication, creativity, and problem-solving skills. The organization allows young women to enter STEM careers and pathways,” said Trinity Taylor, a seventh-year innovator.

“Our journey over the last decade is a testament to the power of community and opportunity, and I couldn’t be more excited for what the future holds as we continue to break barriers and spark dreams,” said Ajaelo.

“By encouraging girls to explore STEM fields from a young age, we foster their intellectual growth and equip them with the tools needed to thrive in a competitive global economy,” Ajaelo says.

Empowering young girls through STEM education is also a key driver of innovation and progress. When young women and girls are encouraged to pursue careers in STEM, they bring unique perspectives and problem-solving approaches to the table, leading to more diverse and inclusive solutions. This diversity is crucial for driving creativity and pushing boundaries in scientific and technological advancements.

Self-eSTEM has fundraising opportunities year-round, but year-end giving is one of the most critical times to support the program. Visit www.selfestem.org to donate to the organization, as your generosity and support will propel programming support for today’s innovators.

You will also find more details about Self-eSTEM’s programs on their website and social channels @selfestemorg