Cambria County schools were locked down amid statewide 'swatting' hoax threats

Mar. 30—EBENSBURG, Pa. — An unfounded report of shots fired at Bishop Carroll Catholic High School sent districts across Cambria County into lockdown at the order of District Attorney Gregory Neugebauer on Wednesday morning and triggered a massive response from first responders.

Neugebauer said the first call came in to the Cambria 911 center at 9:40 a.m., and another call was taken about Jackson Elementary after that.

Upon investigation by Pennsylvania State Police, local officers and the DA's office, it was determined there was no threat to either school.

The initial lockdown order was then changed to a shelter-in-place, and at 11 a.m., the order was lifted entirely, Neugebauer said.

"We have to treat any threat to our schools as legitimate until determined to be otherwise," the DA said, adding that partnerships between local, state and federal law enforcement allowed for a quick response on Wednesday.

Now, those departments are working together to catch the perpetrators of the threats.

"I can't say enough about the incredible response of law enforcement here," Head of Bishop Carroll school Stephen Cotchen said.

When he was notified by authorities about the alleged danger, he described it as a "phone call that no administrator wants to get at any point in their careers," but after that, all of the training that's done by staff and students kicks in.

"Obviously, we're blessed and thankful that there was nothing and that we were safe," Cotchen said.

Cambria County wasn't the only area in Pennsylvania targeted by these hoax calls.

A release from the state police said the agency is investigating "a series of phone calls made to 911 centers about schools across the commonwealth involving threats of an active shooter situation or bomb threat."

That ranged from Central Catholic and Oakland Catholic in the Pittsburgh area to Bellefonte in Centre County, an Erie school and more.

"These phone calls were made to several schools in different counties," state police said.

"All calls have had similar content. All calls are being thoroughly investigated and responded to by law enforcement."

The release states that, at this time, the claims from all calls have been determined to be false and all schools were cleared by law enforcement.

'Swatting'

These incidents appear to be a collective act of "swatting."

St. Francis University assistant cybersecurity professor Michael Zambotti described "swatting" as a form of cyber harassment that has been prevalent in the online gaming world as a form of retribution or bullying for some time.

The action is done by filing a false report of a crime in progress that forces law enforcement to respond.

"Swatting attacks against public locations, such as schools or sporting events, are even easier to carry out because there is no personal information that needs to be found before executing the attack," Zambotti said. "When you add the ability to generate the initial call to law enforcement using a computer and spoofed phone number, you get a crime that is easy to execute in multiple locations at once."

FBI Pittsburgh addressed the issue on Twitter, stating the agency "takes swatting very seriously because it puts innocent people at risk."

"While we have no information to indicate a specific and credible threat, we will continue to work with our local state and federal law enforcement partners to gather, share and act upon threat information as it come to our attention," the statement said.

Westmont Hilltop sophomore Neena Roberts McDonald said her reaction was "fear and panic" when the news of the need to shelter in class came across the PA system.

"In a couple minutes, my teacher gave us basic information, explaining how there had been threats made to other schools and that we were now in a soft lockdown," Roberts McDonald said.

"I was frankly worried for myself and my peers, especially students of other schools."

She added that these threats are horrible and no child should be subjected to the fear and violence of school shooters and/or threats.

"School should be a place where kids feel safe, but instead we need to be taught how to run, hide or fight," Roberts McDonald said.

Richland Superintendent Arnold Nadonley said the DA's order hit him "like a ton of bricks."

"Your heart drops during this type of thing," he said. "You have to react and be proactive ... bring in your team and set up a command structure to start disseminating information."

District administrators asked parents not to show up to the schools after the lockdown was lifted and assured them that every precaution was taken to ensure student and staff safety.

'What was the goal?'

Richland parent Amber Gaunt said she was not overly worried about the situation upon being notified because the district communication made it clear the measure was precautionary.

She was also reassured by the knowledge that Richland has "great safety measures in place," employs a school resource officer and the township police station is nearby.

Despite that, the mother of three students in the district was left questioning why this was done.

"When I realized the scope of these threats, it made me wonder what kind of sick person would threaten little ones and make parents worry," Gaunt said. "What was the goal there?"

Conemaugh Valley High School Principal Jeffrey Miller's first thoughts when alerted about the lockdown went to his three children who were safe in other area districts.

"Hoax or not, situations like this are nerve-wracking and heartbreaking," he said.

From a school leadership perspective, Miller said he's confident the Conemaugh Valley team was prepared for today's incident.

"However, you just never know what will happen or when," the principal said. "There's never enough preparation, and we depend heavily on our local responders. I pray that the real situation never happens. I can't imagine what the kids, parents and school staff members must feel when these things really happen."

Neighboring counties were not exempt from the threatening reports.

Somerset Area School District in Somerset County was also in a "lock out" mode after the sheriff's office received a "swatting" call.

A man speaking in broken English told the office that six students at the high school had been shot in the restroom, Somerset Borough police Chief Randy Cox said.

"We had some indication early on it was a swatting attempt," he said.

The caller provided the wrong address of the high school and it was apparent the phone number was "spoofed."

In response to the report, police increased patrols at Somerset Area schools, Johnstown Christian School and others in the county, according to officials.

Blair County school districts also received similar calls that were determined to be unfounded.

State police in Hollidaysburg and Rockview responded to those incidents and in a statement on Twitter said that they are treating each with standard law-enforcement protocols, and that "the calls are believed to be computer-generated swatting calls."

Situations such as these played out across the country on Wednesday from Pennsylvania to Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New Jersey.

These states appear to be the latest in a string of "swatting" calls logged nationwide in the past week.

News stories out of Missouri, Wisconsin, Kansas and others show false reports to schools are on the rise.

A month ago, schools in New York dealt with the same type of hoax threats.

According to an NBC affiliate WHEC News 10 story from Feb. 24, the Federal Bureau of Investigation is involved in that investigation after four schools there were involved in "swatting."