Hoax calls put schools in eastern Washington on alert -- including Clarkston, Pullman and Pomeroy high schools

May 10—An active shooter reported at area schools Wednesday morning drew a heavy police presence within minutes. Luckily, it turned out to be a hoax.

Separate phone calls to various law enforcement agencies in eastern Washington reported a shooter at a school in each agency's jurisdiction. Among the schools that were mentioned in the bogus reports were Clarkston, Pullman and Pomeroy high schools.

Clarkston Police Chief Joel Hastings said someone called the Whitcom Regional Dispatch Center around 10:30 a.m. and reported a male in front of Clarkston High with an assault rifle, threatening to go in and start shooting. The caller also reported he heard gunshots.

Police and the student resource officer quickly responded, along with the Asotin County Sheriff's Office, the city of Asotin, Lewiston Police Department, and state Fish and Wildlife officers.

The school was placed on lockdown and searched, and no individual with weapons or threat was found.

Hastings said that five minutes before the Clarkston call, Pullman police "had the exact same call, the same voice, the exact same wording." Pullman police cleared Pullman High quicker because they received the call before Clarkston, but also found no threat.

Schools in Spokane, Walla Walla, Garfield County and Columbia County received similar calls, Hastings said. Asotin schools were placed on lockdown as a precaution.

"It appears to be a spoof that hit our region," Hastings said. "We find no evidence of any threat to the school."

The hoax reached all the way to Curlew School District in Curlew, Wash., 10 miles south of the Canadian border. The call in Curlew came into dispatch at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday.

Police continued to have a presence at the high school and other schools for the rest of the day.

At 11:12 a.m., an intercom announcement was made on the CHS campus that said there was no threat and the area was given the all clear. Students were released to lunch and the break was extended to 11:55 a.m. The message was repeated several times.

A few minutes later, students came out of the building, some leaving in cars or being picked up by friends or family. Students and staff members were given the option of going home or returning to class.

A group of people gathered near the school as police investigated inside. Among them were Ashley Cameron and Samantha Shingleton, who both had children at the high school and were waiting to hear the all clear.

Cameron was working at McDonald's in Clarkston and was handing out food when a customer told her there was an active shooter at the high school. She went to the school and called Shingleton, who lives in the Clarkston Heights.

By the time Cameron arrived at the school, law enforcement had already responded and the building was on lock down. Her son texted her, saying it wasn't a drill and he wanted to go home.

The two mothers anxiously waited and watched for news.

"Literally, just waiting," Shingleton said.

At first, there wasn't an alert from the school but then Cameron received a phone call and was told the elementary schools were on hold, where she has a younger son attending.

"There's been too many threats with this just this week," Cameron said.

The school had a bomb threat about a week ago, Cameron and Shingleton said. During that threat, Shingleton was the one who alerted Cameron.

Shingleton said there's been more threats this year than she recalls from previous years. Those threats are also circulating in other school districts across the state.

Hastings said there was also a threat two weeks ago, which was a fake report that also affected numerous school districts across the state.

"It's really been out of control," Shingleton said. "We get tired of this."

Even though the threat turned out to be a hoax, the experience is "still scary," Cameron said.

Hastings said the incident will be investigated, but the call came from a false number, which makes it difficult to trace.

Another parent at the scene said he received a text from the school and immediately went to Clarkston High School, where his son is a freshman.

"I'm taking my kid out for the rest of the day," the man said. "This kind of thing is getting ridiculous. I hope they find out who is doing it and set an example. I think it's related to mental illness. This kind of thing didn't happen when I was in school."

Brendan Claunch, a 17-year-old student, said he was concerned when he first heard the alert.

"It seemed like a drill, but then they told us to get under our desks," Claunch said. "I went out a door and headed over to Vernon Park. I feel like I could post up against a shooter. My first thought was to grab a chair and hit him if he came through the door."

Gavyn Blimka, 16, said he was alarmed, but started thinking about ways to deter an active shooter. He also wondered why the person would notify dispatchers before entering the school.

"I didn't hear any gunshots, and I thought, 'Why would you send a warning?' That seems kind of stupid."

Second and third grade students from Heights Elementary were also on the CHS campus to rehearse for their concert that was supposed to happen Wednesday evening but was postponed, according to an email sent to families from Principal Samantha Ogden.

The students remained with their teachers during the lockdown and, when the high school was given the all clear, they all returned to Heights. Ogden stated in the email that students and staff handled the situation well "just as we have practiced." Staff were also available to help students process the lockdown at CHS, as well as the hold at the elementary school were students were kept in the classrooms until the situation was cleared at the high school.

The email also encouraged families to spend time with their children and listen to their experiences from the day.

"Reinforce that they were safe with their teachers and that we are lucky to live in Clarkston, where the police quickly came to ensure their safety," the email states. "Finally, remind your child that the hoax was not true. There was no danger at any of the schools today. Thankfully, we have an amazing rapid response teams whose number one priority is community safety."

In a Facebook post on the Clarkston School District page, Superintendent Thaynan Knowlton shared more information about the call, including "swatting" hoaxes affecting schools region and across the country. Swatting is the false reporting of a serious emergency, such as an active shooter or a bomb threat, which results in law enforcement or emergency response teams rushing to a location.

The post also states the importance of safety and communication in any reported threat at the school.

"Emergency services will respond and our schools will follow the established safety procedures while determining the credibility of the threat," the post states. "In situations like today, administrators were locked down by the directive of law enforcement and were unable to assess the facts until the lockdown was lifted."

The post reminds families to update contact information so they can receive alerts and information from the district, as well as talking with children about the day's events.

"We ask that you talk with your children about how hoaxes like these can cause trauma to their peers and potentially prevent our community's emergency personnel from responding to real emergencies," the Facebook post said. "We continue to encourage our students and school community to report anything that could constitute a threat to school safety."

On the Palouse, several Whitman County schools were put on lockdown after the threat was made against Pullman High. Pullman Police Department officers quickly determined there was no credibility to the threat.

Pullman Operations Commander Aaron Breshears said around 10 a.m. Wednesday, the 911 dispatch center received a report of someone who was threatening to go to Pullman High School and kill everyone with a rifle. Before hanging up, the dispatcher heard the person fire rounds from what sounded like a gun.

Immediately after receiving the threat, the school was placed on lockdown.

Pullman police and the Washington State University police responded and initiated an active threat response. Officers searched the school and determined there were no threats to students or staff. Breshears added Moscow police offered to assist both departments in securing the buildings.

Out of precaution, the Moscow School District placed all its schools in secure mode, which meant no outside activities and no entry other than students and staff, according to an email sent by Superintendent Gregory Bailey.

Both the Pullman and Moscow school districts resumed regular operations a little before noon after police cleared the threat. Pullman School District students were given the option to leave school after the lockdown was lifted, Breshears said.

Police are currently investigating this incident, but Breshears said it appeared to be a phone call threat only. He added the person who made the threats could be facing felony charges.

In a Facebook post, the Garfield County Sheriff's Office stated that the agency received a call at its dispatch at 10 a.m. Wednesday. The number was from Flint, Mich., and the caller spoke softly with an "odd" accent. The caller stated he was outside Pomeroy High School and was going to walk inside and "shoot everyone he saw," according to the post. The sound of semi-automatic gunfire was heard before the caller disconnected. Deputies, along with Garfield County Fire and EMS, responded in less than two minutes, but found nothing.

Brewster, Sandaine and Pearce can be contacted at city@lmtribune.com.