Schools

At least 13 more Mass. schools targeted on 3rd day of ‘swatting’ calls

In total, at least 31 schools across Massachusetts have been targeted.

By Susannah Sudborough

February 15, 2023

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At least 13 more Massachusetts schools were targeted with swatting calls Wednesday — the third straight day that a slate of schools across the state received them.

“Swatting” is a type of fake 911 call where the caller falsely claims a violent crime is happening at a location with the goal of generating a heavy police response to that location.

On Wednesday, Lowell Public Schools, Gloucester Public Schools, Salem Public Schools, Leominster Public Schools, Milton Public Schools, Norton Public Schools, Northampton Public Schools, Saugus Public Schools, and Lexington Christian Academy reported that they had been the target of swatting calls.

MassLive reported that schools in Natick and Ludlow, as well as the Horace Mann Laboratory School in Salem, were targeted as well. The New Bedford Standard-Times reported that New Bedford Public Schools was also among those targeted.

Lexington police said in a news release that they received a fake call reporting an active shooter at Lexington Christian Academy at 11:47 a.m. The school went into lockdown and police responded to the school, but they soon determined it was a hoax and classes resumed by 12:50 p.m.

Lowell Public Schools said in a news release that Lowell police received a fake call about an active shooter at Lowell High School at 11:49 a.m. The school was placed on lockdown and police from several different departments responded, but police soon determined it was a hoax, and classes resumed at 12:30 p.m.

Northampton police said in a news release that they received a swatting call targeting Northampton High School at 12:14 p.m. It is unclear when classes resumed.

The Standard-Times reported that the swatting call targeting New Bedford High School was made to the Bristol County Sheriff’s Department soon after, at approximately 12:15 p.m. It is unclear when classes resumed.

Norton police said that Norton High School was targeted at 12:20 p.m. and went into lockdown. It is unclear when classes resumed.

Gloucester Public Schools said in a news release that Gloucester police received a fake call about an active shooter at Gloucester High School at 12:25 p.m. Students and staff were ordered to shelter in place as police responded, but police quickly determined it was a hoax, and classes resumed at 12:56 p.m.

“We take all emergency calls seriously, but hoax calls such as a swatting tie up resources that could be responding to other crises,” Gloucester Police Chief Edward Conley said in the release.

Leominster police said in a news release that the swatting call they received targeted Sky View Middle School and that the school went into lockdown, but that it was determined to be a hoax soon enough for classes to resume at 12:30 p.m. It is unclear what time Leominster police received the swatting call.

Saugus Public Schools said in a news release that Saugus police received a swatting call from an unidentified male targeting Saugus High School at 1:09 p.m. The school was placed on lockdown and police responded, but they soon determined it was a hoax and classes resumed about 30 minutes later.

Salem and Milton Public Schools said that their high schools were also targeted and went into lockdown, but it is unclear what time they received the calls or when classes resumed.

On Monday, at least six Massachusetts schools were targeted with swatting calls. On Tuesday, at least 12 more schools were targeted. State Police and the FBI are investigating all swatting incidents.

Schools are a common target for swatting calls, and schools all across the country have been targeted both in recent months and over the past several years. Most often, the caller falsely claims a shooter is attacking the school or that someone has made a bomb threat against the school.