Friday September 14, 1:41 AM

Bomb hoaxes hit U.S. cities, By Brett Graff

MIAMI (Reuters) - A rash of bomb scares against U.S. government buildings, offices and schools -- apparently hoaxes provoked by Tuesday''s attacks on the United States -- have hit Miami and two other cities, police said on Thursday.

Miami police evacuated six downtown buildings on Thursday, including the federal and county courthouses, after callers claimed to have planted explosives inside.

In Washington, the American University closed its campus following two telephone bomb threats.

In Delaware, five bomb threats phoned in from cell phones and pay phones emptied two government buildings, a courthouse, two office buildings and a drugstore in downtown Wilmington.

"There are people who are taking advantage of the country''s anxiety," said Lt. Bill Schwartz of the City of Miami Police.

Bomb threats made against two federal courthouses early Thursday turned out to be false. In the Claude Pepper Building that houses federal offices such as bankruptcy filings, police evacuated employees while investigators checked a suspicious package, Schwartz said.

The nearby Miami-Dade County Courthouse was searched and evacuated after a caller claimed to have planted a bomb. And the State Attorney''s Office of Child Support was investigated for explosives but those threats proved to be hoaxes, he said.

Three false bomb threats were made to Miami downtown office buildings and at least two schools in the area Wednesday.

The American University in Washington, which has more than 10,000 students, evacuated people from classrooms and dormitories after two telephone calls, a spokeswoman said. Friday September 14, 1:41 AM

Bomb hoaxes hit U.S. cities, By Brett Graff

MIAMI (Reuters) - A rash of bomb scares against U.S. government buildings, offices and schools -- apparently hoaxes provoked by Tuesday''s attacks on the United States -- have hit Miami and two other cities, police said on Thursday.

Miami police evacuated six downtown buildings on Thursday, including the federal and county courthouses, after callers claimed to have planted explosives inside.

In Washington, the American University closed its campus following two telephone bomb threats.

In Delaware, five bomb threats phoned in from cell phones and pay phones emptied two government buildings, a courthouse, two office buildings and a drugstore in downtown Wilmington.

"There are people who are taking advantage of the country''s anxiety," said Lt. Bill Schwartz of the City of Miami Police.

Bomb threats made against two federal courthouses early Thursday turned out to be false. In the Claude Pepper Building that houses federal offices such as bankruptcy filings, police evacuated employees while investigators checked a suspicious package, Schwartz said.

The nearby Miami-Dade County Courthouse was searched and evacuated after a caller claimed to have planted a bomb. And the State Attorney''s Office of Child Support was investigated for explosives but those threats proved to be hoaxes, he said.

Three false bomb threats were made to Miami downtown office buildings and at least two schools in the area Wednesday.

The American University in Washington, which has more than 10,000 students, evacuated people from classrooms and dormitories after two telephone calls, a spokeswoman said. Friday September 14, 1:41 AM

Bomb hoaxes hit U.S. cities, By Brett Graff

MIAMI (Reuters) - A rash of bomb scares against U.S. government buildings, offices and schools -- apparently hoaxes provoked by Tuesday''s attacks on the United States -- have hit Miami and two other cities, police said on Thursday.

Miami police evacuated six downtown buildings on Thursday, including the federal and county courthouses, after callers claimed to have planted explosives inside.

In Washington, the American University closed its campus following two telephone bomb threats.

In Delaware, five bomb threats phoned in from cell phones and pay phones emptied two government buildings, a courthouse, two office buildings and a drugstore in downtown Wilmington.

"There are people who are taking advantage of the country''s anxiety," said Lt. Bill Schwartz of the City of Miami Police.

Bomb threats made against two federal courthouses early Thursday turned out to be false. In the Claude Pepper Building that houses federal offices such as bankruptcy filings, police evacuated employees while investigators checked a suspicious package, Schwartz said.

The nearby Miami-Dade County Courthouse was searched and evacuated after a caller claimed to have planted a bomb. And the State Attorney''s Office of Child Support was investigated for explosives but those threats proved to be hoaxes, he said.

Three false bomb threats were made to Miami downtown office buildings and at least two schools in the area Wednesday.

The American University in Washington, which has more than 10,000 students, evacuated people from classrooms and dormitories after two telephone calls, a spokeswoman said. Friday September 14, 1:41 AM

Bomb hoaxes hit U.S. cities, By Brett Graff

MIAMI (Reuters) - A rash of bomb scares against U.S. government buildings, offices and schools -- apparently hoaxes provoked by Tuesday''s attacks on the United States -- have hit Miami and two other cities, police said on Thursday.

Miami police evacuated six downtown buildings on Thursday, including the federal and county courthouses, after callers claimed to have planted explosives inside.

In Washington, the American University closed its campus following two telephone bomb threats.

In Delaware, five bomb threats phoned in from cell phones and pay phones emptied two government buildings, a courthouse, two office buildings and a drugstore in downtown Wilmington.

"There are people who are taking advantage of the country''s anxiety," said Lt. Bill Schwartz of the City of Miami Police.

Bomb threats made against two federal courthouses early Thursday turned out to be false. In the Claude Pepper Building that houses federal offices such as bankruptcy filings, police evacuated employees while investigators checked a suspicious package, Schwartz said.

The nearby Miami-Dade County Courthouse was searched and evacuated after a caller claimed to have planted a bomb. And the State Attorney''s Office of Child Support was investigated for explosives but those threats proved to be hoaxes, he said.

Three false bomb threats were made to Miami downtown office buildings and at least two schools in the area Wednesday.

The American University in Washington, which has more than 10,000 students, evacuated people from classrooms and dormitories after two telephone calls, a spokeswoman said.

-- Alan Dickens (adickens@arsdigita.com), September 13, 2001