'Never been so afraid': Hoax shooter calls alarm students, parents in Hopewell, New Castle

HOPEWELL TWP. – As teens filed out of Hopewell High School Wednesday afternoon, many clung together consoling one another. Parents, some in tears, watched anxiously from behind police lines, eager to embrace their kids.

Just hours prior, students and parents feared Hopewell may be the latest school to endure an active shooter incident. Police ultimately determined the report was fake — part of a spate of “swatting” calls made to elicit a large police presence and stir chaos — but the community's terror in those moments was real.

“It was scary sitting at home and not knowing if my friends and peers were safe, or even alive,” said senior Gillian Morse, who had gone home sick earlier that day. “I know I bear a very light load of trauma, but I was absolutely terrified. It's not easy thinking about having to go to your friends’ funerals at 18.”

When Aliquippa police received reports of an armed gunman and casualties at Hopewell Senior High School Wednesday morning, first responders were on the scene within minutes.

Other incidents reported: Hoax swatting calls bring police, lockdowns to schools throughout Pennsylvania. What we know

Police soon learned the school was one of many in Pennsylvania targeted by “swatting” calls falsely reporting an active shooter inside the building. Several districts in western Pennsylvania, including New Castle Junior-Senior High School, treated these threats as credible and told students to shelter in place or evacuate when possible.

“It truly sickens me that this is a situation kids my age and younger have to fear every single day,” said Bella Leseiko, a senior from Hopewell Township. “We as a society should feel safe in our school systems. It was easily one of the worst situations I’ve ever been in and I wouldn’t wish this on absolutely anybody.”

False threats cause panic among families

The out-of-state, computer-generated hoax calls, now under investigation by Pennsylvania State Police, alarmed staff, students and families.

At Hopewell, students and staff were placed on lockdown just before 10:30 a.m. with little information. As a result, families outside the school assumed the worst as reports from police scanners indicated a potential shooter in the building.

Students said they were "terrified," but some still asked their family members to avoid the area to stay safe. As students evacuated the building, many could be seen holding each other close.

More: Police sent to Erie High on bogus school shooting report as hoaxes hit other Pa. schools

"People are having such different responses to the whole situation," said Giovanni Krebs, a senior at Hopewell High School. "Even though it was extremely stressful, I am more than glad no one was injured. All I could think about the entire time was if my sister was safe. When a classmate showed me a text saying there were 'six shot' I prayed it wasn't her. To find out it was all a hoax, nobody was injured and that we all had to go through that for a prank call honestly makes me angry more than anything."

For parents, it was a gut-wrenching morning.

“It was the most terrified I have ever been,” said Denise Pascia, a Moon Township preschool assistant whose daughter attends Hopewell High School. “I can’t even explain the feeling of that.”

Parents unable to be at the scene Wednesday scrambled for credible information early on. Charissa Yoko-Schwartz, a Hopewell Township parent and employee at UPMC Children's Hospital, first received word about reports of a shooter at Central Catholic High School in Pittsburgh before hearing about the incident in Hopewell Township.

"When a coworker said Hopewell was 'under attack,' too, I thought it was odd for two schools in the area to have active shooters," Yoko-Schwartz said.

"However, my emotions ran high until I heard from my son and knew he was safe. Not knowing was difficult, and waiting to hear from the school was frustrating, but the logical side of me kept saying the authorities needed time to sweep the building, and the longer it took the more likely it was a hoax. If there were casualties, there would have been more chatter, more reporting, more online posts."

UPMC Children's Hospital staff remained ready for a potential emergency situation, but no calls came to the medical center.

Just days after an active shooter killed six people, including three children, at a Nashville, Tenn., private school, Hopewell students and their parents said Wednesday marked "one of the scariest days" of their lives.

"I've never been so afraid," said Ambridge resident Brittany Williams, who waited outside the school Wednesday for information about her daughter who attends Hopewell Junior High. "I felt like I couldn't take a full breath, I was just in terror. I'm just glad everyone is OK."

Photos from Hopewell lockdown: Hopewell High school locked down by hoax active shooter call

First responders address false reports and 'swatting'

Hopewell Area Superintendent Jeff Beltz said Aliquippa police received a call from someone claiming to be “locked down in a bathroom” at the high school Wednesday morning. The school was locked down and cleared by police.

Senior high students had initially evacuated to Hopewell Junior High, but were later moved to Margaret Ross Elementary as the junior high was cleared. Once both schools were cleared by early Wednesday afternoon, remaining students were moved to the Hopewell Shopping Center to be transported home following an early dismissal as police continued to investigate the scene.

The New Castle City Police Department received a call from a “male threatening to shoot up New Castle High School” around the same time Hopewell responded to the threats, but upon further investigation found many other schools received fake threats involving active shooters or potential bombs. New Castle High was immediately put on lockdown following the threats, with police officers clearing the school within minutes, officers said.

“Swatting” is a term used to describe false reports made to law enforcement to elicit a heavy police response. Often, those who facilitate swatting hoaxes use technology to make it appear as if the call is coming from a victim’s phone.

Beaver County District Attorney David Lozier said Hopewell was the only district in the county to receive the call, which falsely reported "six casualties" in the building. Officers received the call around 10:20 a.m., Lozier said, with Beaver County SWAT and local police responding “very fast.”

“Within 15 minutes, it was pretty clear there were no reports of an actual event or casualties,” Lozier said.

Nearby school districts, including Rochester, Aliquippa, Blackhawk, Ambridge and Riverside went on lockdown as police investigated the scene at Hopewell.

Central Catholic High School and Oakland Catholic in Pittsburgh were also targeted by the “computer-generated swatting calls,” according to Allegheny County Emergency Services. Allegheny County received calls reporting an active shooter in three separate schools. Farrell Area School District in Mercer County was targeted, too.

Students call for action

For many families, the incident and recent events in national news continue to prompt questions about student safety and school shootings in the United States. As over 89 gun-related incidents have occurred on school campus in 2023, those scared by Wednesday's events want to see some form of change to prevent a serious incident from happening.

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“I’m angry that there isn’t more being done to mitigate incidents like these,” Morse, the Hopewell senior, said. “Mass shootings have been a problem for years and so many lawmakers don’t seem to care enough. I, a high school senior, shouldn’t have to walk into school every day worrying if I’m going to make it to the end of the school year because someone decides to take other people's lives.”

This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: Districts throughout Pennsylvania targeted by wave of ‘swatting’ calls Wednesday