Valley superintendent alerts families on rising number of school swatting incidents
Police were called to several Pennsylvania schools on Monday.
The Monessen City School District cautioned families Monday about the rising number of swatting incidents throughout the state.
Multiple swattings were reported Monday in the Philadelphia area and other parts of the state. In a statement, Monessen Superintendent Robert Motte informed district residents about the growing threats throughout the state and elsewhere.
“We want to make you aware of a situation that has been occurring across school districts in our region and throughout the state,” Motte said. “Several districts have recently received false emergency calls reporting an armed intruder inside school buildings. These calls are not real and are part of what is known as ‘swatting.’” Swatting can involve placing false emergency calls to emergency responders, often reporting a (false) severe, ongoing crisis at a specific location. The goal of swatting is to provoke a significant law enforcement response, creating chaos and potentially resulting in violence.
Motte emphasized that the district has not received any type of threats and has not been impacted, but they wanted to alert families.
“Out of an abundance of caution, we have informed all staff of this situation and reviewed our safety protocols,” Motte said. “We remain in close communication with local law enforcement and will continue to monitor any developments.
“The safety and well-being of our students and staff is always our top priority. We believe in keeping our community informed while also ensuring accurate information is shared to prevent unnecessary concern.”
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro stated on Facebook that the Pennsylvania State Police was already investigating multiple swatting threats that happened Monday.
“These reports are products of cruel swatting incidents — when someone calls in a fake threat to induce panic,” Shapiro wrote. “Swatting is illegal — and I’ve directed the PA State Police to work with our local partners and use every resource at their disposal to find whoever called in these fake threats and hold them accountable.
“This was a scary morning — for parents, students, and educators alike. I’m grateful no one was hurt, and thankful for our members of local law enforcement who ran towards danger to keep Pennsylvanians safe.”
According to U.S. Homeland Security, swatting can cause additional issues by pulling officers away from real emergencies, potentially delaying response times for actual threats. Swatting can also waste taxpayer dollars and drain first responder resources.
Swatting is the malicious tactic of making hoax calls or reports to emergency services, typically feigning an immediate threat to life. Swatting is intended to draw a large response from SWAT teams or other law enforcement resources to an unsuspecting victim’s location, causing chaos and the potential for injury or violence.
Targets of swatting often include high-profile public figures, as well as schools, hospitals, places of worship, and centers of mass transportation, but anyone can be a victim. A swatting incident may be an isolated event targeting one victim or part of a larger coordinated effort to target multiple victims.
Last week, U.S. Attorney David Metcalf announced that charges had been filed against a juvenile following a series of swatting calls aimed at universities and other institutions in eastern Pennsylvania and elsewhere last August.
Metcalf said the juvenile was a self-identified member of the cybercriminal group “Purgatory.” He added that the defendant selected the victim institutions at random and was not affiliated with any of them.
“Recently, swatting calls have become an increasingly common crime,” Metcalf’s office said in a statement. “… The perpetrators are often part of online cybercriminal communities and believe that they will not be caught or punished. They are wrong. Federal law enforcement will investigate and prosecute these crimes regardless of who commits them or where they reside.”
