Multiple schools in Belmont and Jefferson counties have been on the receiving end of online threats this week, while an arrest has been made in connection with a similar threat in West Virginia.

Late Tuesday evening, Buckeye Local School District received a direct threat with a list of names of students. The threats are being posted on a Snapchat account and being spread widely across multiple social media platforms. After being made aware of the threats, Buckeye Local Superintendent Coy Sudvary made the decision to cancel school for Wednesday.

“There were 10 kids’ names listed, so to guarantee their safety as well as the safety of all of the kids we thought that it was best to keep the kids at home,” he said.

He added that due to the threat being made late Tuesday night, he believed canceling Wednesday classes would give the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office more time to investigate. The first threat occurred Monday and since then, schools in the St. Clairsville, Union Local, Martins Ferry, Shadyside and Bellaire districts have also been added to a list of schools the individual says they will be targeting. Sudvary thanked the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office and specifically Sheriff Fred Abdalla Jr. for the continued diligent efforts to find the person who is making the threats.

In an ironic twist, when the original threat was made around 10:30 a.m. Monday, the Jefferson County Juvenile Court was holding an assembly at Buckeye Local with several law enforcement officers in attendance.

“We couldn’t have had more police protection within the building when the threat was made if we called ourselves,” Sudvary said.

St. Clairsville-Richland City Schools weren’t initially named in the threat but were added on Tuesday evening. Before the school was even threatened, St. Clairsville Superintendent Walt Skaggs made the decision to place the buildings on a “soft lockdown,” meaning that all exterior doors are to be locked with nobody from outside of the school having access to enter the building. Upon receiving a threat, Skaggs decided to place the schools on a Code Yellow Lockdown, which is similar to a soft lockdown buts adds that students must be escorted to each class and have an escort if they need to leave a class or the building at any time.

Skaggs said that St. Clairsville has a school resource officer on duty but also had three other officers from the Belmont County Sheriff’s Office patrolling the buildings throughout the district.

Belmont County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy James Zasack said he has been in regular communication with all of the school districts that were threatened and has implemented a heavier police presence on their campuses.

“We’re just making ourselves visible everywhere around the schools,” Zasack said.

Although Martins Ferry City Schools operated under a soft lockdown on Tuesday, Superintendent Jim Fogle said the decision was made for the school to conduct business as usual.

“We’re going to continue to operate on a regular schedule, but we have enhanced safety measures in place,” Fogle said Wednesday. “We have an increased police presence within our buildings and are actively communicating with the Belmont County police as well as not letting visitors into our buildings.”

He added that Martins Ferry schools regularly have two resource officers on duty.

“We’ll continue to operate the way that we are now until this issue is resolved,” Fogle said.

Shadyside Superintendent John Haswell added that he has not been informed of any updates on the perpetrator or threats.

“It was like a normal day of education going on. The only difference is we had a closed lunch and a closed recess and some parents called their kids off,” Haswell said of the school day Wednesday.

He mentioned that the schools were locked and had a very prominent police presence, which he plans to continue to do until he receives word that whoever is making the threats has been apprehended.

Officials with Union Local and Bellaire schools did not immediately respond to calls seeking comment on the matter Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the youth allegedly involved in a threat against Weir Middle School on Monday is now facing felony charges. According to Hancock County Prosecuting Attorney Steven Dragisich, the individual, who has been identified by law enforcement as a sixth grade student at Weir Middle School, has been charged with threatening a terroristic act under West Virginia Code 61-6-24(b).

If found guilty, the youth could face fines of between $5,000 and $25,000, or confinement in a state correctional facility for one to three years, or both.

“I have zero tolerance for any individual who makes any such threats in Hancock County,” Dragisich said. “The safety and security of the teachers, students, and citizens of Hancock County are of paramount importance to me. Accordingly, any individual, whether a juvenile or an adult, making any similar terroristic threats will be charged and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

Hancock County Schools and Weirton police were made aware Monday of a message posted through the social media platform Snapchat making the threat against Weir Middle. Weirton Police Chief Charlie Kush reported Monday that officers were able to locate the suspected individual and have spoken to the family.

Additional threats were reported Tuesday, resulting in the closure of Hancock County’s public schools on Wednesday, along with all after-school activities.

Hancock County Superintendent Dan Enich, in a statement released Wednesday evening, noted the school district’s administration has been working with Dragisich’s office, law enforcement and officials from other counties to address the threats.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has been involved in some of the threat cases.

“The FBI is aware of recent threats directed toward multiple school districts across Western Pennsylvania and West Virginia,” said a statement issued by the FBI. “We remain in close coordination with our law enforcement partners to provide assistance where appropriate. That includes gathering intelligence, sharing information, tracking down leads, and working with partners to identify and mitigate threats quickly and effectively.”

The FBI noted issuing any kind of threat promoting violence can be a violation of both state and federal law. Officials encourage students, teachers, administrators and parents to report such activities to their local 911 dispatch or to the FBI by calling 800-225-5324 or online at tips.fbi.gov.

Craig Howell contributed to this report.