Authorities say report of active shooter was hoax
Dec. 8—Scores of children from St. John Regional School in Concord were in church Thursday morning, waiting for Mass to wrap up, when a stranger approached the priest.
"I was sitting with my eyes closed getting ready to say the closing prayer and felt someone touch my knee and opened my eyes with an officer kneeling on one knee telling me in a quiet voice we may have an active shooter," recalled the Rev. Richard Roberge from Christ the King Parish.
What Roberge didn't know at the time was that the threat of an active shooter at the school next door was one of a string of similar reports across the state Thursday morning.
All turned out to be hoaxes.
"It's a very, very sad commentary on the state of mind of some people," Roberge said in a phone interview. "They don't realize they put everyone in danger."
The priest announced there was an "emergency" at the school. Students spent the time in church singing Christmas carols even as numerous police officers, some with weapons drawn, searched the campus.
The children were released to their parents after the report was declared a hoax.
"There were hugs, obviously," Roberge said. "The kids are doing fantastic."
Aside from a secretary, the school was empty during the church service, he said.
"Police had to break down a couple doors to get into the school," Roberge said.
At numerous schools, including in Portsmouth, Keene, Dover, Lebanon, Franklin and Epsom, frightened parents waited for authorities to investigate.
Manchester Superintendent of Schools Jenn Gillis confirmed a call was received involving a city school.
"While we are not identifying that school by name, we can say that the school resource officer on site helped to immediately dispel the call as a hoax," Gillis said in a statement. "As information came in, we worked quickly to notify principals across the district of the hoax calls, and also get a message out to all families and staff. We greatly appreciate the quick response and communication with Manchester Police as this unfolded."
"The Department of Safety is aware of multiple active shooter threats that have been made at schools throughout the state," tweeted New Hampshire Homeland Security and Emergency Management.
Authorities later in the morning announced the reports were unfounded.
The state Department of Safety said that "other jurisdictions across the country have reported receiving hoax calls."
The FBI is investigating similar incidents across the country, including recent hoax calls in Maine, according to spokeswoman Kristen Setera.
"Investigating hoax threats drains law enforcement resources and diverts us from responding to an actual crisis. Hoax threats can shut down schools, cause undue stress and fear to the public, and cost taxpayers a lot of money," Setera said.
"Unfortunately, this disrupts schools all over the state," Concord Deputy Police Chief John Thomas told reporters. "It disrupts public services."
The Department of Safety said "all threats will be taken seriously until such time as their validity is determined. Everyone is encouraged to report any suspicious activity to their local law enforcement agency."
Police departments around the state responded to threats to specific schools by checking all of them in their communities.
Portsmouth Police at 9:57 a.m. received a call that "an active shooter incident" had occurred at Portsmouth High School.
"Portsmouth Police responded, and all schools in the city were sent into lockdown," said a statement from Police Chief Mark Newport and school Superintendent Zach McLaughlin.
"In addition to the high school, all schools in Portsmouth were swept by law enforcement and determined to be safe," the statement said.
In Lebanon, police at 10:25 a.m. received a report of an active shooter at the Lebanon Middle School that turned out to be a hoax.
"Lebanon Police will have an increased presence throughout the day at all Lebanon Schools to ensure they are safe and secure," the police department said in a morning statement.
The Manchester School District on Twitter said school administrators and police were monitoring the situation.
"Out of an abundance of caution, Manchester Police will have additional resources monitoring all of our schools," the district said.
Four Concord public schools, including Concord High School, were put in lockdown, according to a tweet from the Concord School District.
"Students are SAFE," the tweet added.
Union Leader staff reporter Paul Feely contributed to this report.
Photographer David Lane contributed.
