See what Iowa communities got school shooting swatting calls Tuesday

Francesca Block, Des Moines Register
·2 min read
1
Police responded to Fort Madison High School at about 10 a.m. Tuesday on reports of an active shooter that turned out to be false. Local law enforcement monitored the school until just past noon before an all-clear was given. The so-called swatting calls were made to about 30 schools across the state.

Schools across Iowa locked down Tuesday after receiving fake calls of active shooters, mobilizing law enforcement and leaving parents and children in a state of fear.

The first swatting call in Iowa came in to Clinton County at about 8 a.m. Officials in Creston responded to the last call at about 10:30 a.m. In total, 30 schools from 23 different communities in Iowa were impacted by the false reports, according to a news release the Iowa Department of Public Safety.

More:'It's what no ... (Iowans) want to hear': 30 schools locked down over fake shooting reports

What is swatting?

These "swatting calls" are "hoax reports" that were "intended to trigger an immediate and widespread law enforcement deployment or emergency service response to a specific location," according to the news release.

"The design of it is to create confusion and chaos," said DPS commissioner Stephan Baynes. "It’s designed to draw a large law enforcement presence to a school even though there is no active threat. And by all accounts and for all intents and purposes, it appears thus far that is what Iowa experienced today.”

More:New Iowa app allows anonymous reports to curb school threats, violence 24/7

Who made the swatting calls to Iowa?

Bayens said there are indications that the same person or people were behind the calls. He said the male voice appeared to be from the same person, who spoke with an accent, and that the caller was making his way through school districts from east to west across the state.

Iowa DPS is working with the Federal Bureau of Investigation to track down the caller, according to the release.

What communities got swatting calls Tuesday?

Here is a list of all of the areas impacted by the swatting calls:

  • Cedar Rapids

  • North Liberty

  • Iowa City (multiple schools)

  • Clinton

  • Davenport

  • Muscatine

  • Cerro Gordo County

  • Story County

  • Lee County (multiple schools)

  • Waterloo

  • Boone

  • Mason City

  • Charles City

  • Clear Lake

  • Creston

  • Des Moines

  • Oskaloosa

  • Marshalltown

  • Monona

  • Nevada

  • North Liberty

  • Ottumwa

  • Decorah

Francesca Block is a breaking news reporter at the Des Moines Register. Reach her at FBlock@registermedia.com or on Twitter at @francescablock3.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: What Iowa school districts, towns and counties received swatting calls