Law enforcement agencies reassured community members Wednesday night that they are working hard to keep Jewish organizations secure and track down the origins of threats. Nashville’s Jewish Community Center hosted the discussion after it received three bomb threats since the beginning of January.
Even after one suspect was tracked down, Jewish organizations around the country have still received bomb threats in recent days. One man in the audience at the Nashville JCC expressed frustration at the lack of closure in this rash of incidents.
“I can assure you this,” responded Matt Espenshade, who was representing the FBI at the community forum. “No one has been sleeping on the job with it. From the moment that the first calls started coming in, they were addressed tenaciously. They were addressed with the full force and effort of the federal resources.”
Neither law enforcement nor the JCC spoke at length about their protocols for handling bomb threats, citing security concerns. The head of the JCC did say it is setting up a system this week to send out more immediate notifications to the community.
Meanwhile, Councilwoman Sheri Weiner says she wants the Metro Council to pass a resolution pressuring state lawmakers to increase the penalties against people who make or carry out bomb threats.
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