W.Va. Department of Homeland Security responds to multiple false threats of violence to W.Va. schools

Dec. 7—West Virginia schools including three county school districts in the southern reaches of the state were put on lockdown Wednesday morning after multiple hoax threats about school shootings or other violence on campuses were called into 911 centers.

According to a press release Wednesday from the West Virginia Department of Homeland Security, all calls were deemed not credible.

WVDHS confirmed that false threats have been received in Barbour, Cabell, Greenbrier, Harrison, Ohio, Kanawha, Marion, Mercer, Monongalia, Raleigh, Taylor, Wirt and Wood counties.

"Each threat is taken seriously and thoroughly investigated," Secretary of Homeland Security Jeff Sandy said in the release. "We are one hundred percent committed to continuing to ensure the health, safety and well-being of students and communities. We diligently work across departments and agencies to respond, monitor, and investigate these alleged threats."

In southern West Virginia, Independence High School in Raleigh County and Greenbrier East High School in Greenbrier County were the target of the threats.

Richard Filipek, deputy director of the Raleigh County Emergency Operations Center, said a person using an out-of-state number called in a threat to Raleigh's 911 center for Independence High around 10:30 a.m. Wednesday.

Although the threat was deemed to be a hoax, Filipek said they still responded as if it were a "real call."

"This situation is happening nationwide today," Filipek said. "There are state police in every state trying to track down the root of it — where it's coming from. But at the 911 level we are treating each 911 call as a real thing."

According to a release Wednesday afternoon from the West Virginia State Police, some of the first hoax threats were called in to the Kanawha County Emergency Operations Center (Kanawha Metro 911) at approximately 9 a.m. Wednesday.

The release states that three "swatting" calls were made to 911 centers in the early hours Wednesday morning. Swatting is the act of placing fake 911 calls in order to draw a response from law enforcement and emergency responders to a certain location.

An initial call was made by a male to Kanawha Metro 911 reporting the presence of an active shooter and several victims within South Charleston High School.

Additionally, the male subject called the Cabell County Emergency Operations Center and reported similar information at Huntington High School.

A similar call was also placed to Charleston Area Medical Center and advised the hospital to accept patients involved within or related to this incident.

According to the state police's release, the calls resulted in a full response from numerous agencies and first responders.

The state police also received information that Morgantown High School, Fairmont High School and other schools around the state were targeted.

The West Virginia State Police is currently working with several agencies involved with the investigation, including but not limited to the FBI and the South Charleston Police Department, to determine the threat level.

A statement on the Raleigh County Sheriff's Office Facebook page said the department is "aware of these threats," and although all the threats have been deemed not credible, the sheriff's office is "increasing patrols at all Raleigh County schools out of abundance of caution."

Raleigh County Schools Superintendent David Price said a message was sent to all parents and students with Raleigh County Schools informing them of the situation.

"I just wanted to put that call out to assure everyone we're taking it serious even though it seems to not be a credible threat," Price said.

"Ninety-nine percent of the time, it's a hoax, but you don't want that 1 percent to happen, so you've got to take them all serious," Price said. "And that's what we do. We have great law enforcement agencies that work really close with us and I can't say enough about them and their response."

In Greenbrier County, a district-wide message was sent out just before 1 p.m. Wednesday using the Greenbrier County Schools messaging system which read, "Several 911 centers around the state have received calls regarding active shooter situations at high schools, today.

"The calls have been false alarms. A call was received about Greenbrier East High School today. The call came from Georgia."

The message went on to state that nearby schools were placed on lockdown as a "precautionary measure" but those schools later returned to "regular school procedures and all students and staff members are safe."

In Mercer County, Bluefield High School was placed on lockdown about 10:45 a.m., and law enforcement was dispatched to investigate, according to a report from the Bluefield Daily Telegraph.

"The lockdown at Bluefield High School has been lifted," according to a statement posted about 15 minutes later by Mercer County Schools. "There is no threat."

According to the WVDHS, West Virginia has partnered with My Mobile Witness to implement a "see something, send something" reporting system that can be completed on a smartphone or other mobile device. All West Virginians are encouraged to participate in this initiative by downloading the free See, Send application from the App Store or Google Play.

My Mobile Witness is also compatible with web-based reporting and is not strictly for cell phone use. Once the app is downloaded to a device, users will be prompted to enter their first and last name (though any reporting can be done anonymously, if the user prefers), their phone number, and then select a state of residence. Once those fields are entered, the app will be ready to use. The user may submit tips for "Crime/Suspicious Activity" or "School Threat or Safety Issues," and they may also request help for "Suicide or Addiction."

The West Virginia Department of Homeland Security reminds all West Virginians to immediately call 911 if there is an immediate danger or law enforcement intervention is necessary.