No explosives reported in Middle Tennessee after bomb threats demanding ransom flooded U.S. cities

Nashville was one of numerous U.S. cities targeted in a nationwide string of bomb threats Thursday afternoon. 

There were no reports that any actual explosive devices had been discovered, USA TODAY found, but the threats alone forced many police departments to monitor and investigate.

Metro Nashville Police joined law enforcement in Murfreesboro, Clarksville, Gallatin, Memphis and others around Tennessee in confirming that their regions had received threats. 

Most of the threats reported were sent via email and asked the recipient to pay a $20,000 ransom via Bitcoin before the end of the work day. 

Threats called, emailed in nationwide

Threats were also received in California, Iowa, Michigan, Utah, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Louisiana, as well as in Oklahoma, New York, Florida and several other states. 

Nationwide:Police departments nationwide sent scrambling by flood of e-mailed bomb threats

Several buildings named in the nationwide threats were evacuated at some point Thursday afternoon before being declared safe. 

Troy Gill, manager of security research at AppRiver, told USA TODAY that the poorly worded emails, which used seemingly non-native English, were sent by a server in Moscow. It was not clear whether the perpetrators were actually located in Russia. 

AppRiver is a cybersecurity business.

Gill told USA TODAY the threats may be related to a recent flood of "sextortion" emails in which the sender tried to extort money from the recipient by threatening to release embarrassing videos.

Threat asks for bitcoin ransom

A business in Mississippi shared the text of one of the threats received with the USA TODAY Network-Tennessee.

Barbara Campbell, with Veritas Healthcare Group in Southaven, Mississippi, saw the email around 12:45 p.m. Thursday. The company determined their employees were safe, and Campbell and her company had no intention of paying the ransom. 

"When I first opened the email I was a little shocked and scared, but after talking with a coworker we figured it was a scam," Campbell said in an email.

The subject line was "Dont (sic) play with me," and the text threatened an explosion, demanding a ransom paid by bitcoin to stop the threat. The message is full of misspellings. 

"I write you to inform you that my man carried the explosive device (lead azide) into the building where your business is located...It can be hidden anywhere because of its small size, it is impossible to destroy the supporting building structure by my bomb, but in the case of its detonation there will be many victims. My man is watching the situation around the building. If he notices any strange activity, panic or policemen the device will be exploded," the emailed threat said.

Lead azide is an explosive derivative of lead, according to the National Institutes of Health. Other variations of the threats posted online include other explosive materials as the alleged explosive device. 

The threat included a time limit: The ransom transfer must be completed by the end of the work day. 

"I would like to propose you a transaction. 20.000 dollars is the price for your life. Transfer it to me in Bitcoin and I guarantee that I have to withdraw my mercenary and explosive will not detonate," the email read.

The full text of the emailed threat is included below, with misspellings preserved:

"Subject: Dont play with me

 I write you to inform you that my man carried the explosive device (lead azide) into the building where your business is located. My recruited person constructed the explosive device according to my guide. It can be hidden anywhere because of its small size, it is impossible to destroy the supporting building structure by my bomb, but in the case of its detonation there will be many victims.
My man is watching the situation around the building. If he notices any strange activity, panic  or policemen the device will be exploded.
I would like to propose you a transaction. 20.000 dollars is the price for your life. Tansfer it to me in Bitcoin and I guarantee that I have to withdraw my mercenary and explosive will not detonate. But do not try to cheat- my guarantee will become actual only after 3 confirmations in blockchain.

  My payment details (btc address): [Redacted]

You must solve problems with the transfer by the end of the workday, if the workday is over and people start leaving the building the device will explode.
Nothing personal, if you don’t transfer me the bitcoin and an explosive device detonates, next time other commercial enterprises will send me a lot more, because this is not a one-time action.
To stay anonimous I will no longer enter this email. I monitor my  address every thirty min and after receiving the money I will order my person to leave your area.

If the bomb detonates and the authorities see this message:
We are not the terrorist organization and do not take any  liability for explosions in other places."

Middle Tennessee recipient of several threats

No explosive devices were reported by authorities in Middle Tennessee. 

In Franklin, police reported four threats made via email to nonresidential locations sometime after 12:26 p.m. Thursday, and the Williamson County Sheriff's Department investigated two schools in the Franklin Special School District.

Gallatin Police Department confirmed that City Hall and the Gallatin Police Department received emails, as well as Volunteer State Community College.  

“Similar to what other agencies and cities are receiving today. It appears to be nothing that is of any threat … it appears to be a hoax," a spokesperson for the Gallatin police reported. 

The Murfreesboro Police Department confirmed that they investigated three threats. The targeted Murfreesboro businesses include Abra Auto Body Repair of America and Cycles & Stuff Inc., both on Broad Street and Interstate Warehousing on Joe B. Jackson Parkway. 

Clarksville Police, Clarksville Fire Rescue, Homeland Security and Montgomery County Emergency Management responded to a threat at a property management office in the 200 block of the U.S. 41A Bypass shortly before noon.

"Even though this type of letter has been circulating throughout the country and, so far, has proved to be a hoax, threats are taken seriously and all efforts to ensure the safety of citizens are utilized," a CPD news release said.

Steph Ingersoll, Brinley Hineman and Amy Nixon contributed to this report. Reach Mariah Timms at mtimms@tennessean.com or 615-259-8344 and on Twitter @MariahTimms.