Fact check: False report of active shooter prompted lockdown, closure of Cincinnati-area high school

BrieAnna J. Frank, USA TODAY
·2 min read
Generic and blurry police lights from a cruiser vehicle and car headlights behind yellow crime scene do not cross caution tape at night.

The claim: An Ohio high school had an active shooter on March 1

A March 1 Facebook post (direct link, archive link) claimed students at an Ohio high school were in immediate danger.

"Please keep my babies in prayer!!" the post reads. "Active shooter at Mount Healthy High School."

It was shared nearly 100 times in one day.

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Our rating: False

An active shooter threat was called into a local police department on March 1 and prompted an immediate lockdown and search at Mt. Healthy High School near Cincinnati, Ohio, according to the school district. No threat was found and the call was determined to be a hoax.

Active shooter hoax prompted March 1 lockdown

The Mt. Healthy City School District in Ohio was notified of an active shooter threat that was called into the local police department on March 1, according to a district statement.

The caller claimed there was an active shooter in a particular room at Mt. Healthy High School, the district said. The school went into an immediate lockdown and police cleared the campus, finding no threat inside.

The room mentioned by the caller does not exist, according to the district.

The statement from the school district went on to say "another prank call of a similar nature" was made about a different school in the area while Mt. Healthy High School was being cleared, which prompted two other school buildings in the district to go into external lockdown.

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Colerain Township Fire Department Battalion Chief Steve Conn told the Cincinnati Enquirer the initial call was reported as a level one mass casualty incident, which prompted at least six medical units and additional fire and support resources.

The outlet reported another school in the area went into lockdown in September after a call, later traced to California, falsely reported 10 students were injured in a classroom.

Mt. Healthy High School canceled classes on March 2, according to its Facebook page. The school was set to reopen on March 3 with counselors and other support services available for students.

USA TODAY previously debunked claims of an active shooter at a Georgia high school and Walmart stores in Illinois and Tennessee.

USA TODAY reached out to users who shared the claim for comment.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: Report of active shooter at Ohio high school was a hoax