FLORIDA – (Boca Post) — Multiple south Florida schools have been placed under a code red lockdown following what various law enforcement agencies report to be swatting calls.
“Swatting” is when someone places a 911 call to report an emergency that isn’t actually occurring, placing the subject of the call in great danger of an armed response by law enforcement. Oftentimes, SWAT teams will respond, guns drawn, terrifying everyone on the receiving end of the “swatting’ call.
Just today, Boca Raton Community High School was placed on a code-red lockdown when officers responded to the school in response to an “armed individual” on campus, according to 9-1-1 dispatchers. Police quickly responded and cleared the school which has since resumed normal operations.
At the same time, Pembroke Pines Police Department responded to a similar call at West Broward High School. Pembroke Pines PD taking to social media:
We are aware of additional swatting calls which have affected other schools throughout the area and may be connected to the incident at West Broward High. As previously stated, the West Broward campus is secure. We are conducting an investigation into the source of the call.
That response is after they informed the public that Multiple officers are on the scene at West Broward High School investigating a possible swatting call. There is no evidence of any safety concerns at the school at this time. The school is going into lockdown as a precautionary measure.
There are also reports of calls that an active shooter was on the Miami Central High School campus in Miami-Dade county. The Miami-Dade School Board has since said that the reports of an active shooter were false, most likely a hoax affecting other schools in the area.
The following schools are believed to have been a victim of a SWATTING call today:
- Boca Raton High School (Boca Raton)
- Cardinal Newman High School (West Palm Beach)
- Dillard High School (Fort Lauderdale)
- Flanagan High School (Pembroke Pines)
- Miami Central High School (Miami)
- Pompano Beach High Schools (Pompano Beach)
- Ronald Reagan High School (Doral)
- West Broward High School (Pembroke Pines)
