Swatting threats, with hoax reports of guns and shootings, target schools nationwide
A hoax school gunman threat at Bay High School in Bay Village, OH, is one of multiple swatting-type threats targeting schools across the nation, according to a Cleveland-based national school safety expert. Last Friday morning before the Bay High School threat, a similar hoax gun threat occurred where the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School […]
Online group “Evacuation Squad” with ties to Russia and Iran claims responsibility for worldwide wave of school bomb threats
An online group named “Evacuation Squad” is claiming responsibility for a wave of worldwide school bomb threats, according to the digital media website Mashable and news outlets in the United Kingdom and Australia. Mashable says that Evacuation Squad is made up of six international members and listed a Russian email address on its social media […]
Swatting, school bomb and shooting threats: Are FBI federal charges coming soon?
Schools across the nation experienced an uptick in school bomb and shooting threats in recent weeks. Many of these threats are believed to have been made by local individuals such as students or former students. But there are also increasing indicators that a number of these threats are “swatting” incidents — hoax threats intended to trigger […]
Study finds rapid escalation of violent school threats
[Originally published: 2/9/15; Updated: March, 2016] A nationwide epidemic of violent school threats is breeding fear, anxiety and frustration for educators, children and parents. While the vast majority of these threats are anonymous and turn out to be hoaxes, they have to be investigated and taken seriously. Hundreds of schools are losing classroom teaching time, […]
School shooting ‘swatting’ hoaxes trigger massive police responses, parent anxiety
False reports of school shootings, bomb threats and other threats made to schools are triggering massive police responses and heightened parental anxiety across the nation. Hoax calls known as “swatting” involve a caller makes a false report to police to draw an overwhelming response including by police SWAT team, thus the term “swatting.” Recent incidents of such […]
Schools face new wave of violent threats sent by social media and other electronic means, study says
More than one-third of violent threats to schools since the beginning of this school year were delivered by social media, email, text messaging, and other electronic forms, according to a new study by our national school safety consulting firm. “The cost of these threats in taxpayer dollars for police response, lost instruction time, and anxiety […]
Are schools the targets for new hoax shooting and bomb threats?
Our research has identified a disturbing emerging trend of hoax shooting and bomb threats targeting preK-12 schools. These threats are drawing heavy law enforcement responses to schools and creating anxiety among students, educators, and parents. Recent examples include: A 12-year-old middle school student called in a false report of a shooting at a Florida high […]