Several high schools in Wyoming went on lockdown Monday after receiving calls about active shooters. The calls turned out to be false. File Photo by Carl Ballou/Shutterstock
April 3 (UPI) — Several high schools in Wyoming went on lockdown Monday after receiving calls about active shooters that turned out to be false.
Natrona County High School in Casper, South High School in Cheyenne, and Rock Springs High School in Sweetwater County were among those to receive reports of active shooters on school grounds early Monday morning, the Casper Star Tribune reports.
Local law enforcement reportedly responded to the schools and cleared the facilities before determining there were no active threats to public safety. The Cheyenne Police Department said the phone call to South High School came “from a number from a different area code.”
“There is NO verification of an active shooter on campus,” the Natrona County School District said in a statement to Oil City News.
Laramie County School District 1 said it has been following similar incidents, particularly in Colorado.
“During these events, false calls are made to emergency services, sometimes from overseas, regarding active school threats and critical incidents,” the school district said in an email to parents. “False reporting places our entire community in danger.”
Monday’s false shooter reports, popularly referred to as “swatting,” follow similar activity in Utah, Colorado, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and Iowa in recent weeks.
One person is believed to have been responsible for the calls in Utah, FOX 13 in Salt Lake City reports.
Swatting is a false claim that is meant to trigger an immediate emergency response. The claim is often of a potential violent attack such as an active shooter or bomb threat. School staff and students must take any threat seriously, meaning they will barricade students in the classroom and the school district will alert parents.
Swatting calls in Iowa on March 21 affected more than two dozen school districts, according to the Iowa Department of Public Safety.
“From my perspective, this is a form of terrorism,” said Jennifer Doebler, former FBI intelligence analyst, according to The Hill.