Threats to Miami-Dade, Broward schools unfounded, police investigate "swatting" calls
MIAMI - Police and fire rescue personnel were sent to schools in Miami-Dade and Broward on Tuesday morning to check out reports of possible threats.
Miami Fire Rescue and police went to Miami Central Senior High School after a call was made about a possible threat at the school, at 1781 NW 95th Street in West Little River. The school was placed on lockdown.
A reported threat was also called in concerning Ronald W. Reagan/Doral Senior High School, at 8600 NW 107 Avenue, in Doral. The school was also placed on lockdown.
The county's school district said they received calls about the schools, and a few others, and was able to confirm that there was actually no threat.
"Unfortunately this morning we had three schools targeted with the hoax threats to shoot up the schools. These hoax threats cause a big problem for us here law enforcement because it drains our resources," said Miami-Dade schools police Chief Edwin Lopez.
It is believed they were swatting calls, in which a person makes a prank call which leads to a massive police response. The call usually relates to extreme violence and these types of calls are becoming more frequent nationwide.
"We have zero tolerance for that. Historically we have been affected by this. A couple of years ago, right after Parkland, we had an influx of these types of hoax calls. We had multiple threats. We went on a marketing campaign advising students to think before they hoax. We partnered with the FBI and a host of agencies and it seems that we are getting the same influx of calls again," said Lopez.
Lopez told CBS4 he believes all the calls came from the same source.
In Broward, Pembroke Pines police posted on Twitter that officers were sent to West Broward High School to investigate a possible swatting call. Police said there is no evidence of any threat at the school. The school was also placed on lockdown as a precautionary measure while a search was conducted.
Pembroke Pines police said they are aware of additional swatting calls which have affected other schools throughout the area, including Charles W. Flanagan High. They added that the calls may be connected to the incident at West Broward High. No threats were found at any school.
Pembroke Pines police are also investigating the source of the call.
Fort Lauderdale police said they received a call about an active shooter at Dillard High School morning at approximately 10:15 a.m. The school was placed on lockdown. They said no victims were located and no evidence of a shooting was found either.
Broward's school district sent this statement to parents and guardians.
"This message is to inform you that this morning, out of an abundance of caution and for the safety of our students and staff, all District high schools were placed on Secure status while law enforcement investigated threats to various campuses. At this time, the schools have been cleared. The threats are believed to be unfounded and schools have returned to normal operations."
The calls were made on the same day closing arguments were delivered in the penalty phase trial of Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz.
