Hoax threat made to New Bedford High School: What we know

Matthew Ferreira, Standard-Times
·2 min read
A juvenile victim with a gunshot wound presented at St. Luke's hospital emergency room shortly after the activation. The victim was reported to be in stable condition.

NEW BEDFORD — The city school department and police confirmed Wednesday that a call making threats to New Bedford High was received in the early afternoon, and that it was subsequently determined to be a hoax.

"On 2.15.23 at approximately 12:15 p.m., the Bristol County Sheriff's Office received a call from a male claiming to be armed and outside of the New Bedford high school," New Bedford Police Lt. Scott Carola told The Standard-Times via email Wednesday, noting a patrol response was sent out. "These threatening calls have been received all throughout the region in the last several days. Patrol officers quickly arrived on the scene and were able to confirm this call as yet another hoax.

"As always, we will continue to monitor activity around our schools."

What we know:Hoax threat made at Bishop Connolly High School in Fall River

The call came during a third day of like-calls made to schools around Massachusetts and all across the U.S. On Tuesday, similar threats were received relative to Bishop Connolly High School in Fall River, prompting a lockdown of all Fall River public and Catholic schools.

On Monday, Massachusetts investigated a number of hoax calls, known as "swatting," that forced lockdowns at high schools in Amesbury, Braintree, Westfield, Chelmsford, Charlestown, East Boston and North Attleborough.

South Shore schools: Milton High out of lockdown; 5 school districts hit with fake shooter claims this week

In a response hoax threats made to schools in the South Shore, Patriot Ledger reported a statement from the FBI. "Law enforcement is going to use all available resources to investigate a school threat until we determine whether it is real or not," FBI Boston Division spokesperson Kristen Setera said in an email Tuesday. "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."

This article originally appeared on Standard-Times: Threat made to New Bedford High determined to be hoax, police say