Springfield, Ohio, Middle Schools, High School, City Buildings Evacuated Over Bomb Threats

Friday's evacuations come after a bomb threat, which referenced a false Donald Trump conspiracy theory, forced government buildings to evacuate Thursday

Two middle schools and a high school in Springfield, Ohio, were evacuated because of two bomb threats made the morning of Friday, Sept. 13, as well as the Springfield City Hall and two other government buildings, a city official tells PEOPLE.

A third middle school was also preemptively closed before school started.

Springfield Police Department spokesperson Karen Graves tells PEOPLE that an initial email sent around 7:21 a.m. local time “targeted several City Commissioners and a city employee.” Another email sent about 25 minutes later directly threatened Cliff Park High School, Perrin Woods Elementary School and Roosevelt Middle School, as well as city hall, the city’s Bureau of Motor Vehicles and the Ohio License Bureau Southside.

“In response to these threats, local and regional law enforcement, along with our public safety partners, have acted promptly,” Graves said, adding that law enforcement using bomb-sniffing K-9 units “conducted thorough inspections and cleared the facilities listed in the threats.”

The evacuations come one day after Springfield announced it was evacuating and shutting down government buildings and several other schools because of a bomb threat made in an email on Thursday, Sept. 12.

USA Today reported the bomb threats made Thursday, which prompted the city to shut down its government offices, specifically mentioned the baseless conspiracy theory promoted by former President Donald Trump during Tuesday night’s presidential debate, which claims that local Haitian immigrants have been “eating” domesticated pets.

The local Springfield News-Sun, NBC News and ABC News also reported Friday that officials had evacuated Snowhill Elementary School due to the threats, as well.

Graves said local police are working with the FBI “to determine the origin of these email threats.”

Related: Daughter of Haitian Immigrants Says Trump's 'Eating the Pets' Comment Opens Old Wounds: 'It's So Ignorant' (Exclusive)

BBC reported earlier this week that the false rumor Trump espoused Tuesday had first become widespread after Republican vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance began repeating the claim on social media.

The outlet reports that Vance, who doubled down on the claim after Tuesday's debate (despite city officials debunking it), appears to have picked up the falsehood from a local social media influencer who attended a Springfield, Ohio, city council meeting and complained about the outlandish scenario without providing any evidence to support the statements.

Trump then repeated the false claims on the debate stage Tuesday, bringing the conspiracy theory into the national spotlight. ABC News anchor David Muir, who was moderating the debate, interrupted Trump to tell viewers that the former president’s claim was not supported by fact. In reality, Muir told the more than 67 million viewers, ABC News reporters had already reached out to city officials about the claims, to which city officials said there were “no credible reports” of anything like it happening in the Springfield, Ohio, community.

Graves also confirmed with PEOPLE earlier this week that there were also “no credible reports” of any such incidents taking place.

Related: Haitian Immigration Lawyer Says Ohio Clients Are Panicked amid New Wave of Hate: 'Everyone Is Disheartened' (Exclusive)

PEOPLE spoke with several Haitian-Americans this week who expressed concern about Trump inciting violence by promoting the theory on national television with tens of millions of people tuning in.

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Melissa Chataigne, a first-generation Haitian American, told PEOPLE Trump’s comments had “stung” and are “very dangerous.”

Meanwhile, Lana Marcius Joseph, a Haitian-born immigration lawyer who represents clients around the United States, told PEOPLE she’s had clients reaching out this week asking if it’s safer to “relocate” from where they live in Springfield, Ohio.

Joseph says she was hurt, embarrassed, and upset when she heard Trump make the claim.

"I was in shock to just sit there and hear this man say these things on national TV. And I'm looking at it, and millions of people are watching this, not only just in the United States, but all over the world," she said. "Bringing these types of ideas is only dividing us. It's not doing anything positive or uniting us in any kind of way, but it is just a way to attack us again."

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