'Everyone is safe' at Grand Forks Red River; other Dakotas schools also get hoax active-shooter calls

Oct. 13—GRAND FORKS — There were no weapons, no injuries and "everyone is safe" at Grand Forks Red River High School after the school was targeted with a hoax threat on Thursday morning that appears to be part of a concerted effort in the region and, possibly, across the nation.

A number of officers from the Grand Forks Police Department, the Grand Forks County Sheriff's Office and the Highway Patrol converged on the school shortly after 10:30 a.m., following a call of an active shooter at Red River. Within minutes, there were more than a dozen law enforcement vehicles at the school. Soon thereafter, concerned parents began arriving at the school as well.

"Officers received a call through dispatch of an active shooter at RRHS. Officers immediately responded and began checking the school," Lt. Andrew Stein wrote in an initial statement to the Herald, while acknowledging the possibility that the call was a hoax. "We ask that people stay away from the area until the all clear is given."

At 11:23 a.m., police declared there was no threat.

"The Grand Forks Police Department has completed a room-by-room search of the school. The GFPD did not find anything in their search. Everyone is safe," district officials told Red River parents in an email at 11:42 a.m. "School will continue this afternoon and additional counselors will be on staff."

It was unnerving for parents.

"I was at work and I heard because I work at a school. I heard before the emails or texts," said Victoria Molloy, parent of a Red River student, adding that she was "very worried" as the event unfolded.

"We just moved here from Chicago to get away from this," she said.

Also Thursday morning, schools in Jamestown were on lockdown after a call about a threat. The Jamestown Sun reported that law enforcement officers set up a perimeter around the high school.

The Bismarck Police Department reported that at 10:45 a.m. a call was received of an active shooter at one of that city's high schools. Also in North Dakota, calls prompted response at schools in Williston, Watford City, Fargo and West Fargo.

In South Dakota, the Mitchell Republic, a Forum Communications Co.-owned newspaper, reported that a hoax call to Mitchell dispatch claimed a shooting occurred at that community's public high school.

Emergency personnel converged at Mitchell High School at about 9:25 a.m., about 2 minutes after dispatch received the call. The phone call claimed multiple students were shot. By 9:28 a.m., officers determined the call was a hoax.

Other schools in South Dakota also were targeted with the hoax calls, including schools in Sioux Falls and Brookings.

In Sioux Falls, during a press briefing after officers responded to Sioux Falls Lincoln High School, the school district's public information officer said the calls apparently were made from someone out of state.

And Tuesday, multiple schools in Florida were the targets of hoax calls. Last month, it occurred in Minnesota.

Thursday in Grand Forks, Stein told a reporter at the media staging area that he did not know where the call originated from. He said the call came to the GFPD.

"There will be an investigation that is going to be continuing now," he said.

Catherine Gillach, Grand Forks' associate superintendent of secondary education, also was unsure about the origin of the call, but said it could be linked to the trend of "swatting." She said across the United States, schools have experienced "swatting episodes," where multiple schools across a state will receive calls about active shooters.

"Somebody calls and says they are inside the school, and there's an active shooter in the school, and then community response teams kick in," she said. "I don't think they've resolved the 'why' behind it yet, but it's happening across the nation."

Gillach said schools are required to practice lockdown procedures, so when police received the call Thursday, students and staff knew how to respond.

"Once we have our internal security systems locked down, we just hand over the operations to the police department," she said.

Gillach said the district chose to keep students in school for the remainder of the school day because the school has staff to support students.

"If they're struggling, we prefer that there are trained professionals to work with those kids," she said. "It's primarily for their safety and wellbeing."

The district was allowing parents to check their students out of school.

The district's initial email to parents went out at 11:07 a.m., alerting them of the situation.

"We want you to be aware that a phone call was received this morning about an active shooter at Red River High School. The Grand Forks Police Department immediately responded. The school is currently in lockdown, and GFPD is conducting a room-by-room search of the school," the note read. "Traffic in and out of the area is restricted, and you are asked to avoid this area until further notice. Please do not call the school or your student. Additional information will be communicated to you as soon as possible."

Thursday afternoon, Kirsten Baesler, superintendent of state schools, released a statement about the hoaxes.

"It is unfortunate that someone would call in hoaxes of this nature, but it is reassuring that our school officials, law enforcement and other first-responders were prepared with such a quick and comprehensive response to keep our students and educators safe," Baesler said. "Today's events are a reminder that we must be vigilant about our preparation efforts to keep everyone safe. We also must use this as an opportunity for reflection, for schools and responders to come together to see what worked well, and what needs improvement."

The Herald's Ingrid Harbo, Sav Kelly and Korrie Wenzel contributed to this report.