MISSOULA — Law enforcement is investigating a bomb threat that was made on Thursday against a synagogue in Missoula.
The Missoula Police Department reports a Missoula synagogue received a threat stating there was a bomb on the premises.
The message was accompanied by a demand for monetary payment, with the designated address for funds traced back to Pennsylvania, a news release states.
The message "conveyed a sense of urgency, stressing the need for immediate financial transactions to prevent the alleged threats from being carried out," Missoula Police Department spokeswoman Whitney Bennett said.
Missoula police are currently investigating the threat directed towards the synagogue.
Preliminary assessments indicate there is "no evidence to corroborate the existence of an explosive device," Bennett stated.
The department is working with local, state, and federal officials to trace the origin of these fraudulent messages and identify the individuals responsible for spreading false information.
Similar bomb threats were reported at schools across Montana on Thursday, including schools in Browning, Shepherd, Broadus, and Broadview. Yellowstone County Sheriff Mike Linder said schools in Shepherd and Broadview were searched and determined to be safe.
A school official in Shepherd said a school clerk received an email of a bomb threat and the school resource officer was contacted. Law enforcement responded to the campus and determined the threat didn't require an evacuation, but the classrooms were secured while officers and an explosives specialist dog checked the buildings. Nothing was found.
In Broadus, a school official described a similar situation of a bomb threat made in an email Thursday morning. Schools were evacuated while law enforcement investigated.
A similar threat was made Thursday against Alberton School, and Boulder Elementary School in Jefferson County was also among the schools targeted.
