Pennsylvania state police confirm calls reporting school shootings to be false

Bill Shannon
·1 min read
3

ALTOONA, Pa. (WTAJ) – Police agencies were on the scene at multiple schools in Pennsylvania after getting calls about an active shooter on Wednesday.

Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) have confirmed these to be “swatting” calls — fake calls meant to draw a large police presence — and there’s no known threat to any surrounding schools at this time.

All calls were said to have had similar content, and were made to multiple counties around Pennsylvania. Police had swarmed Altoona, Hollidaysburg, Bishop Carroll, Bellefonte, and other schools across Pennsylvania just after 9 a.m. Wednesday, March 29.

The Altoona Police, and later the Pennsylvania State Police, confirmed that the calls were false alarms. All schools involved have been cleared or are in the process of being cleared by law enforcement, the Pennsylvania State Police said.

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Many Pennsylvania schools went into lockdown, even if no call was made specifically about their campuses, citing an abundance of caution. University of Pittsburgh also took that precaution after a call was made about a shooter at a nearby school.

The Cambria County District Attorney asked all Cambria County schools to lockdown out of an abundance of caution as well.

It was reported by police that the calls came from out of state, and the FBI will be getting involved in the investigation.

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