Schools

At least 28 Mass. schools targeted with hoax shooting calls

The calls came a day after six people were killed in a school shooting in Nashville.

Framingham High School was among the dozens of Massachusetts schools targeted by swatting calls Tuesday. Framingham Public Schools

By Susannah Sudborough

March 28, 2023

More than two dozen Massachusetts schools were targeted by hoax calls reporting school shootings Tuesday, just a day after six people died in a school shooting in Nashville.

There are no reports of injuries from the Massachusetts schools.

NBC10 Boston reported that Massachusetts State Police said they were notified of 28 schools across the state that were targeted by hoax calls, otherwise known as “swatting” calls, Tuesday.

Massachusetts schools targeted with swatting calls:

WCVB reported that Westwood High School and schools in Stoughton, Bellingham, and Taunton were also targeted. MassLive reported that North High School in Worcester, Central High School in Springfield, and a school in Palmer were among the schools targeted by swatting calls. It’s unclear which other schools were targeted Tuesday.

What happened:

Mansfield High School appears to be one of the first schools targeted. Mansfield police said they received a call reporting a shooting at the school at 8:43 a.m. As they were aware that other Massachusetts schools had previously been targeted by swatting calls, they had a plan in place for such an event, and were able to quickly sweep the school as well as the town’s private schools.

Less than 10 minutes later, around 8:50 a.m., Foxborough police received a hoax call reporting a threat at the high school. Police said the school went into lockdown as police swept the school and all schools in the town, but the schools were able to resume normal activities once police cleared the buildings.

Franklin police said they received a hoax call reporting a hostage situation involving a shooter at Franklin High School soon after, at 9:02 a.m. The school went into lockdown as police searched the school, but police quickly cleared the school and the school day continued.

Just over 10 minutes later, at 9:14 a.m., Medway police received a hoax call reporting that a white man had entered Medway High School with a handgun and injured five people. Police said they swept the school and all other schools in the town, after which the schools resumed normal activities.

Haverhill police said they received a hoax call reporting that a man had shot several people at Haverhill High School at 10:10 a.m. The school went into lockdown as police searched the building, but the school day resumed when police finished investigating.

Milford Public Schools said Milford police received a hoax call reporting a threat at the high school sometime during the morning. The school went into lockdown as police searched the school, but the district posted on Facebook that the school day had resumed by 10:15 a.m.

Pittsfield police said they received a hoax call reporting a shooting at Pittsfield High School at 10:40 a.m. They were able to clear the building by 11:50 a.m.

Greenfield police said they received a hoax call reporting a shooter at an “unspecified high school” in the city at 11:02 a.m. They checked all secondary schools and determined the call was fake.

A little after 11 a.m., Northampton police said, they received a hoax call reporting a shooter at Northampton High School. The school went into lockdown while police cleared the building.

Framingham police said they received a hoax call reporting a threat at the high school at 11:34 a.m. A stay-in-place was ordered, but police said they were able to clear the school by 11:47 a.m.

Malden police said they received a hoax call reporting an active shooter at Malden Catholic High School sometime during the morning. They searched the school and determined the call was fake.

North Adams police said they received a hoax call reporting that students had been shot at Drury High School sometime during the morning. The school was evacuated, but once police cleared the school, classes resumed in the afternoon.

Reading police said they received a hoax call reporting a threat at Austin Prep in the late morning and a shelter-in-place was instituted.

It is unclear what time Monument Mountain Regional High School was targeted or how police and the school responded.

What happens now

Federal, state, and local police are investigating the hoax calls made Tuesday, as swatting is a federal crime.

On Monday, at least nine schools in Missouri received swatting calls.

Tuesday marks the first day of widespread swatting calls in Massachusetts since mid-February when at least 31 schools were targeted over the course of three days.

This is at least the second time this year that Drury High School, Greenfield High School, Monument Mountain Regional High School, and Framingham High School have been the targets of swatting calls.

Schools in New Hampshire and Maine were also the targets of swatting calls last year.