Houston Schools Receive Threat Of Violence, Says Campuses To Remain Open

The Houston Independent School District said on Wednesday it had received an emailed threat of violence similar to those made against schools in New York City and Los Angeles this week, but there were no plans to cancel class for its more than 213,000 students.

In a statement on its website, the district said police were sweeping campuses as a precaution, but the threat did not appear to be credible.

Class was to be held as normal on Thursday, the district said.

The threat in Houston came a day after the Los Angeles Unified School District, the second largest in the nation, abruptly canceled class for its more than 640,000 students after receiving an email that said an attack with guns and bombs was planned at multiple locations. The threat was later dismissed as not credible.

New York City public schools received a nearly identical threat but dismissed the message as a hoax and kept its schools open.

Parents in Houston were asked to be vigilant should they see anything out of the ordinary on Thursday morning, the district's statement said.

Families were also being made aware of the threat via robocalls, the Houston Chronicle reported.