Oregon man indicted for bomb threats targeting Ottawa Hills, Bowling Green schools

An Oregon man has been indicted by a federal grand jury in connection with a series of bomb threats that targeted schools across northern Ohio earlier this year, including high schools in Ottawa Hills and Bowling Green.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio, Nathan Hayes, 18, of Sweet Home, Oregon, was charged Wednesday, June 3, with six counts of making threatening communications involving explosives.

Federal prosecutors allege Hayes made bomb threats on or about March 4 to six schools in northern Ohio, including Ottawa Hills High School in Lucas County and Bowling Green High School in Wood County. Other schools named in the indictment were Shaker Heights High School, Rocky River High School, Auburn Career Center and Cardinal High School.

Authorities said the threats were part of a broader series of bomb threats made to at least 17 Ohio high schools earlier this year. The threats prompted multiple schools to enter lockdowns while law enforcement officers searched for explosives and investigated potential acts of terrorism.

Investigators ultimately determined the reports were hoaxes, commonly referred to as “swatting” calls, that originated outside Ohio.

Read more: WTOL