TCC, Florida universities receive false active shooter reports linked to swatting
What Tallahassee Community College thought was a potential active shooter on its main campus Tuesday afternoon turned out to be a false report known as swatting.
The Consolidated Dispatch Agency received the false report of a shooter on campus — according to a TCC statement regarding the incident — which led to the TCC Police Department taking quick action along with local law enforcement agencies by clearing the campus “in less than one minute."
The report was found to be a result of swatting, where individuals try to trick heavily armed authorities such as the SWAT team to respond to an incident at a particular address.
Although the form of harassment is associated with the act of making a “prank call,” the act comes with serious consequences.
Swatting is a crime that can lead to federal and state penalties, and the calls can lead to officers being pulled away from actual emergencies. Individuals who are accused of swatting could be charged with crimes such as misuse of a 911 system or unauthorized access to a protected computer, according to an article in The Palm Beach Post.
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TCC’s statement also stated that “This incident follows a trend of other schools and colleges across the country getting similar false reports in recent months.”
On top of the false report sent to TCC, several Florida universities received similar reports Tuesday morning as well.
A large police response to the campus of Palm Beach Atlantic University in West Palm Beach came after an active shooter report from a non-emergency line, which was later identified to be the target of a swatting call.
About 60 officers flooded the university’s campus, according to The Palm Beach Post article.
In addition, the University of South Florida’s Sarasota-Manatee campus received false shooting reports that Manatee County Sheriff’s Office responded to, which led to exams and classes being canceled for the rest of the day.
Swatting calls also led to Florida International University in Miami-Dade County evacuating some campus buildings Tuesday.
Despite the disruption that triggered individuals at the universities and on TCC’s campus to act fast, the TCC release ended by stating “We are thankful that this was a false report and are grateful to the TCC PD and our local law enforcement community for their swift action.”
Contact Tarah Jean at tjean@tallahassee.com or follow her on twitter @tarahjean_.
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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: TCC, Florida universities receive shooter reports linked to swatting
