FBI agents are investigating two threats made to members of Jewish Community Centers around Los Angeles, and they were examining whether the messages are connected to dozens of other threats sent to community centers around the U.S. in recent days.
At least one of the Southern California threat messages was reported Monday, law enforcement officials told NBC News. Some of the emails sent to centers outside California contained bomb threats but did not include anti-Semitic messages, the officials said.
"The individuals are emailing threats to members of the Jewish Community Center, and this is pretty much similar to the others we've seen around the country," said LAPD Assistant Chief Horace Frank.
"This incident is currently being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with assistance from our folks at the Major Crimes Division," Frank said Tuesday.
In New York a series of anonymous bomb threats were received by at least 19 Jewish Community Centers on Sunday, according to Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Several centers were evacuated as a precaution, though it appeared none of the threats was credible.
Since 2017 there have been about 20 reports of threats made against synagogues and other Jewish facilities in LA, according to LAPD crime data. As of last week none had been reported in 2020.
The FBI said in a statement that "it is aware of threats to members of the Jewish community and continues to work with our state and local partners to identify the sender.
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"At this time, we do not consider these threats to be credible; however, we are continuing to investigate to determine the responsible party. There is no known threat to public safety. As always, we urge the public to remain vigilant and report suspicious activity to law enforcement."
Federal officials also said there is "no nexus to terrorism."
