UPDATE 1:28 PM
Omaha Police are investigating what they say is a hoax phone call of a shooting at South High School. This type of hoax is sometimes referred to as "swatting."
According to OPD: "Officers from multiple agencies responded to the school at 8:17 a.m. Thursday. School staff had already placed the school into lockdown."
The lockdown lasted for about 45 minutes and ended after officers searched the school twice and determined that the call was a hoax.
The Nebraska State Patrol held a press conference on Thursday afternoon to address what they say are "several false reports of school shootings that have been placed to 911 call centers across Nebraska this morning."
Superintendent of Lincoln Public Schools Dr. Paul Gausman acknowledged a similar incident in his district.
"We can confirm that Lincoln Police received a phone call this morning that reported an emergency at one of our schools," said Gausman in a statement. "Lincoln Police working with our staff were able to quickly determine the call was a hoax and part of a national trend aimed at disrupting the learning environment in our schools. We appreciate the continued collaboration and communication with our law enforcement partners. Earlier this week our security department was already aware of the national trend and working with law enforcement on how to best manage 'swatting' incidents which allowed us to be prepared for today's event. It is important we do not further contribute to the disruption created by these bad actors."
Here is the letter that was sent to families and staff at Omaha South High School
Dear South High Staff and Families:
We wanted to let you know about a situation that occurred today. At approximately 8:15 a.m., law enforcement received a report of concern for South High. Law enforcement contacted our school and we immediately went into lockdown.
Officers arrived at our school and thoroughly searched the building. The school remained in lockdown while officers completed a second search. After approximately 45 minutes the lockdown was lifted and we were given the all clear.
During a lockdown, all classroom doors are locked, lights are turned off and students are out of sight of any corridor windows.
We take these matters very seriously. We continue to work with District Safety and our law enforcement partners to investigate the incident. We will have additional officers onsite throughout the day.
All students and staff are safe. We are sharing this message to ensure open communication with our families. The safety of students and staff is our top priority. All schools in our district regularly practice safety drills, including lockdown procedures.
We know today's events may have been concerning for student and we will have counselors available to talk with students.
If you have any questions, please call our office at 531-299-2780.
We appreciate your continued support of South High and Omaha Public Schools.
Sincerely,
Jodi Pesek
Here is the letter sent from Fremont Public Schools about the incident
Fremont Public Schools and the Fremont Police Department are announcing a resolution to a hoax situation that has been making the rounds in Colorado, Kansas, and now here in Nebraska.
A trend of hoax active shooter calls have been hitting 9-1-1 call centers this week. The caller, with background noise consistent with a call center, claims to be in a school building witnessing a shooting.
We’ve also received word that a similar phony call was received at several other Nebraska school districts across the state as well.
Fremont/Dodge County dispatch received a call this morning regarding an active shooter at the High School. The information the caller shared did not rise to the level of concern necessitating a more aggressive response because the information was not in line with our staff, building structure or other specifics related to our school.
Please know these calls are unsubstantiated and phony. Fremont Public Schools and the Fremont Police Department have been working together and will investigate all threats per our standard protocol.
Out of due diligence, Fremont Police responded to the High School this morning and informed us of the call to affirm their support of our safety efforts.
All of our students and staff at our schools are safe. No learning has been disrupted and business is operating in our buildings as usual.
As always, if you have information to share with us regarding school safety please reach out. Our message remains the same, If You See Something, Say something. If You Know Something, Tell An Adult. Together, we help ensure that our students, schools and community are safe.
“Fremont Public Schools takes all situations seriously, student and staff safety is our top priority,” stated Mark Shepard, superintendent. “We are fortunate to have a partnership with local law enforcement to keep our schools and the community safe.
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