WASHINGTON, D.C., USA — The FBI has identified six persons of interest in threats made to historically Black colleges and universities.
The agency said six juveniles are part of their investigation, according to reporting from NBC News. The outlet reported Wednesday a law enforcement official said the six "tech savvy" juveniles are persons of interest in the case and suspected of making the threats.
In the past two days, nearly 20 HBCUs nationwide have received bomb threats, including three in Georgia. Spelman College and Fort Valley State in Georgia received bomb threats on Tuesday, Albany State University reported a threat on Monday.
The threats come as the nation celebrates Black History Month, questioning if the threats are rooted in racism.
Sen. Raphael Warnock, who graduated from Morehouse University, is calling on law enforcement to push more resources into investigating these threats.
"It is painful to see, particularly on the first day of Black History Month, our Historically Black College and University students being terrorized by threats of violence. I will not stop until these hateful threats are fully investigated and Georgians at our HBCUs feel safe," Warnock said in a statement.
The FBI said in a statement its Joint Terrorism Task Forces is spearheading the investigation into the nationwide series of bomb threats to HBCUs. Agency leaders said the threats are being investigated as hate crimes that are racially or ethnically motivated.
"This investigation is of the highest priority for the Bureau and involves more than 20 FBI field offices across the country," the agency said in a statement.
According to the FBI, no explosive devices have been found where a threat has been reported.
"The FBI takes all threats with the utmost seriousness and we are committed to thoroughly and aggressively investigating these threats," a statement agency reads in part.
The FBI said if anyone has any information related to these incidents or wants to report anything suspicious to do so at tips.fbi.gov.