Licking Valley school shooting hoax a 'nightmare' for parents
For Bryan White and hundreds of other Licking Valley parents, Friday was a "nightmare."
White was in Columbus when his wife called and said that there was an active shooter call at Licking Valley High School.
"I got here as quick as I could. Just an absolute nightmare thinking about not having one of them," White said picking up his four children from Licking Valley Primary School Friday afternoon.
Ohio school swatted:Hoax active shooter call forces Licking Valley students to evacuate
The call turned out to be a hoax. No shots were fired and there were no injuries. And Licking Valley wasn't alone. At least eight Ohio schools from Columbus, Cincinnati and other cities were targeted in false active shooter reports on Friday, making the state the latest hit by a national wave of false school shooting threats.
What is 'swatting'? Ohio schools fall victim to hoax calls
It's a phenomenon called "swatting:" Someone makes a hoax call to law enforcement to purposefully cause a heavy police or SWAT team response at a given location.
Licking County Sheriff Randy Thorp said the communication center received a call at 10:56 a.m. and a gentleman caller reported an active shooter at the high school. He said a specific room was given and the caller said shots were being fired.
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Sheriff's deputies began arriving on the scene and entering the buildings. They did not encounter any shots being fired and all students were safe, Thorp said.
"While we were in the progress of sweeping the schools, we learned that there were some other jurisdictions that were receiving the same exact call with the same exact information," he said. "It was kind of a relief at that point to feel as though that it was a swatting situation."
Licking County Sheriff Randy Thorp: 'It's horrible for the parents to have to go through that. It's horrible for the kids to have to go through that'
The department worked quickly to get information out that the situation was a hoax, but Thorp said it doesn't relieve parents and family members of the trauma and stress.
"They're showing up, parking alongside the road anywhere they can to try to figure out how they can get reunited with their child," he said. "These type of situations are just very unfortunate. It's horrible for the parents to have to go through that. It's horrible for the kids to have to go through that."
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White said the situation was frustrating, but it's the way things are trending.
"What goes through my head is I'm just thankful to the Lord that my kids are safe and everyone's safe," he said. "Even though it's a hoax and whatnot, I'd rather it be that than the real thing."
Students, parents on 'swatting' incidents at Licking Valley schools
Eighth grader Trace Henry was outside near the high school football field when he saw fellow students running from the buildings. He said in the moment he wasn't sure what was happening and wondered if there was a fire inside.
He, other students and teachers took shelter in a nearby barn until officers told them it was OK to return to the school. Students stayed in the gym while parents came to pick them up.
Trace called his mother, Courtney, at 11:30 a.m. and told her he didn't know what was going on, but he was safe in a barn and told her not to come to the school. Hearing that, Courtney said she was terrified "because you don't have any information and they're not going to give it to you," she said after picking up Trace and her daughter Taryn, 12.
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"I told him if you see anything, you don't worry about anything else you hide," she said with tears in her eyes.
Courtney said she tried to call Taryn, but the sixth grader didn't have her cellphone.
Once she saw her children, Courtney said she cried.
"When everything you do in life is for them, that is your sole purpose," she said. On her forearm, Courtney has a tattoo that reads "For them I'll risk it all."
Armed man detained after arriving on school grounds, was later cleared by police
Thorp said a man was detained at the school after he showed up armed. His intention was to help officers, Thorp said.
"Obviously, when law enforcement shows up on the scene, we have no idea who this individual is," He said. "He was handled in a manner that this person was a threat, because we didn't know. So he was taken into custody, and since then all that has been worked out."
Thorp said the man had a connection with the school, but was unsure if he was a parent of Licking Valley students.
Licking County Sheriff's Office working to trace origin of false active shooter report
The Licking County Sheriff's Office will work with state agencies and the FBI to trace the origin of the phone calls, Thorp said.
"We'll work with them and obviously if there's a way to trace back these electronic devices and things like that, that would be the focus of the investigation," he said.
'It didn't feel like a hoax': Princeton in national string of false active shooter reports
Thorp said he worries the intent of such as hoax was to measure the response of law enforcement, adding that he can't imagine someone would make that kind of call for fun.
"I don't know what joy anyone would get by putting other human beings through this, especially when it comes to their kids," he said. "What's more important than their children and their grandchildren, and things of that nature? That's what's important to all of us in our lives, and to throw people into that state of mind where your children are in jeopardy it's just a horrible situation."
mdevito@gannett.com
740-607-2175
Twitter: @MariaDeVito13
This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Licking Valley schools 'swatted,' incident a 'nightmare' for parents
