![]() “The FBI takes swatting very seriously because it puts innocent people at risk,” the agency said in a statement to Education Week. The surge in swatting calls come alongside a wave of more typical events that spark school lockdowns: students issuing threats as pranks, reports of suspicious people near school buildings, and other false alarms. And, at first, it felt like it could be a real attack, he said. It took about an hour before students could leave. Lavier, who had never had a lockdown at his school for any reason but a practice drill, ordered students to remain in their classrooms while police from multiple local agencies swept hallways. All he found were students startled by his sudden entry. During last period Monday, a police officer ran into the building to respond to a specific classroom, which a caller connected to a shooting in the school. ![]() His school was disrupted by just such a false report this week. “I don’t know who would do that to a school.” “There are some kind of sick people out there,” said Andrew Lavier, the principal of Alamosa high school in Alamosa, Colo. The FBI investigated and that call was later traced to Modesto, California.The FBI has labeled the practice “swatting,” a term that refers to filing a false report with the aim of stoking chaos and provoking a large law enforcement response. In that wave of reports, Princeton High School was forced into lockdown after a caller falsely reported that 10 students were injured in a shooting. In September, schools across the country were hit with dozens of false shooting reports. Both of those buildings were placed on an external lockdown as a precaution, Blanton said, meaning no one was allowed inside the building but students and staff weren't made to shelter in place. The Mount Healthy Preparatory and Fitness Academy sits adjacent to Mount Healthy City Schools' central administration building and Mount Healthy South Elementary School. ![]() Officers responded to that building and cleared it as well, police said. The school building, which also houses the junior high school, was placed on lockdown with students and teachers sheltering inside classrooms, he added.Ī parent of the nearby Mount Healthy Preparatory and Fitness Academy received a call from their child, who was inside the school, mistakenly reporting there was an active shooting there, Mount Healthy police said. The caller reported the incident as being in room 55, which doesn't exist in the building, said Bryce Blanton, spokesperson for Mounty Health City Schools. This is far from the first hoax call reporting an active shooter at a local school district this school year, leaving parents and family members concerned for the well-being of their loved ones.Įarlier this month, law enforcement responded to Mount Healthy High School on March 1 after a report of an active shooter threat that proved to be a prank call, school district officials said. "The person could be in California for all we know," or it could even be a robocall, Cunningham said. The department's intel unit will investigate the call's origin and coordinate with other law enforcement agencies if it's determined the call appears related to other incidents, Cunningham said. Lieutenant John Cunningham, a Cincinnati Police Department spokesperson, said it's too soon to tell whether the call made to Elder is related to similar incidents reported around the country Tuesday. ![]()
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