MADISON, Wis. — Law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, investigated a flurry of false threats to schools in more than a dozen Wisconsin communities Thursday, eventually deeming them not credible and part of a larger “swatting” effort.
Fake school shooting reports were called in to law enforcement agencies across the state Thursday, including in Madison, Janesville, Portage and the Wisconsin Dells.
Madison Metropolitan School District spokesperson Tim LeMonds confirmed with News 3 Now that someone called Dane County Dispatch at about 10:40 a.m. Thursday claiming a person had shot dozens of students at East High School in Madison. The call was similar to other calls received by law enforcement agencies across the state. In every case, there was no legitimate threat to the schools.
News 3 Now’s partners in Milwaukee reported more than a half-dozen similar calls were made in southeastern Wisconsin, including in Milwaukee, Waukesha, and Ozaukee Counties. Authorities in the Green Bay and Stevens Point areas also reported getting swatting calls for high schools there.
LeMonds said Dane County authorities alerted MMSD about the calls coming in around the state ahead of time, warning that it was a possibility that similar reports would be made about schools in Madison.
LeMonds said because of that, they were prepared with a response. Police patrols were increased in the area of East High School as a precaution, LeMonds said, because the district still needs to take every potential threat seriously.
“We have to take all of these threats seriously,” LeMonds said. “We knew it was highly likely a part of this swatting campaign, but we did have police respond (and) they were able to quickly determine that report was a part of that campaign and false.”
As of Thursday evening, East High School was the only school in Madison to be the subject of one of the false shooting reports.
The Madison Police Department said Thursday afternoon it was notified of the reports by Dane County Emergency Management and had yet to find any credible threats to local schools as of noon on Thursday.
“We’re saddened and disappointed that someone would do this and are working diligently with our law enforcement partners to identify the person responsible,” Madison Police Officer Ryan Kimberley said in the department’s report on the incident.
Speaking with News 3 Now Thursday afternoon, East High School student Maria Brennan wondered why someone would make such threats.
“Gun violence is very serious… so like, why make a joke about it?” she asked.
The FBI’s Milwaukee Division released a statement Thursday morning saying it was also aware of numerous “swatting” incidents about active shooters at schools across Wisconsin.
“The FBI takes swatting very seriously because it puts innocent people at risk. While we have no information to indicate a specific and credible threat, we will continue to work with our local, state, and federal law enforcement partners to gather, share, and act upon threat information as it comes to our attention,” the agency said. “We urge the public to remain vigilant, and report any and all suspicious activity and/or individuals to law enforcement immediately.”
Anyone with information is asked to call Madison Police at 608-255-2345 or Madison Area Crime Stoppers at 608-266-6014.
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