UPDATE as of 5:55pm Thursday 12/13/18-

Investigators have determined that the threats received Thursday are not credible. At this point there are no reports of explosives being detonated or located at any locations where threats were made. If anyone has any further information regarding the incident please contact your local law enforcement agency

The Calhoun County and Kalamazoo County Sheriff’s Offices, as well as the F.B.I. and law enforcement organizations in several communities around Michigan and the U.S., continue investigating multiple reports of bomb threats which were received via email Thursday. These threats demanded money from the recipient and were directed toward governmental locations and private businesses.

Here is a transcript of the email that was sent across the country:

Subject: Use your time wisely

Hello. My mercenary has carried an explosive device (Tetryl) into the building where your company is located. It is constructed according to my guide. It has small dimensions and it is hidden very carefully, it is not able to damage the building structure, but if it explodes you will get many victims. My man is controlling the situation around the building. If he sees any strange behavior, panic or policemen he will power the bomb. I can withdraw my man if you pay. You pay me 20.000 dollars in BTC and the device will not explode, but do not try to fool me -I warrant you that I will call off my mercenary only after 3 confirmations in blockchain network. You have to solve problems with the payment by the end of the workday, if the workday is over and people start leaving the building the bomb will detonate. Nothing personal, if you don’t send me the bitcoins and a bomb explodes, next time other commercial enterprises will pay me a lot more, because this isnt a one-time action. To stay anonimous I wont log into this email account. I check my wallet every 30 min and if I see the payment I will order my recruited person to leave your district. If an explosion occurred and the authorities read this letter! We arent terrorists and do not assume liability for explosions in other buildings.

 

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ORIGINAL REPORT-

A wave of emailed bomb threats has been hitting cities across the country Thursday afternoon including Battle Creek & Kalamazoo. The Battle Creek Police Department sent out an alert at around 3:15 pm saying that several businesses in the Battle Creek area had received bomb threats by email and they are being treated at legitimate threats until other information is provided. The Kalamazoo County Sheriff's office also reported that they had received reports about the threat, which appears to be a hoax, but it hasn't been confirmed at this time. Until a hoax is confirmed, local law enforcement is taking the matter very seriously.

Authorities say the message states a bomb will go off if the recipient doesn’t pay a certain amount of money by a certain time, similar to phone scams that target individuals demanding money. A series of similar threats were sent to schools, businesses and government institutions across the United States. FOX News reports the threats are coming from a foreign country. The exact nature of the threats is not known at this time.

If you received a bomb threat email, contact Calhoun County Central Dispatch or Kalmaazoo County Central Dispatch or your local law enforcement office depending on where you live or work. Local authorities are currently working with the FBI to investigate these incidents and determine the legitimacy of the emails.

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