The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Police: Student victim of ‘swatting’
Elyria police have determined an incident of “swatting” provoked the lockdown of Elyria High School on May 22, according to a news release from the Elyria Police Department.
Police said “swatting” is considered a form of terrorism and involves the act of deceiving emergency personnel into sending police and emergency services to another person’s address based upon a false reporting of a serious emergency.
At 11:51 a.m., May 22, Elyria police with the assistance of local, state and federal law enforcement agencies, responded
to Elyria High School, 601 Middle Ave., after receiving a report of a student who had barricaded himself in a restroom armed with multiple weapons and propane explosive devices, the release said.
The caller identified himself as a student at the school and, according to the release, stated it was his desire to inflict mass casualties on students, faculty members and law enforcement officers responding to the scene.
After investigators were told the student was in a phone conversation with an employee of the Lorain County Emergency Management Office in Elyria, officers located the pupil, a 15-year-old male, and determined the call did not originate from him, according to police.
The student told investigators he was a victim of online harassment by “hackers” and when he refused to comply with their request, he was told his personal information would be shared before being subject to “swatting,” authorities said.
Swatting causes disruption and diverts emergency services from legitimate emergencies and the potential to cause injuries and psychological harm to the first responders and the targeted individuals, according to the release.
Amy Higgins, communications director for Elyria City Schools, said a resource officer at the school received a threat and the school was placed on internal lockdown.
Students were forced to hide where they were, while police searched the grounds, Higgins said.
Police set up a perimeter around the school at around noon. After sweeping the building twice, Elyria police Capt. Chris Costantino said there were no threats.
The school was on lockdown until about 2:40 p.m. when staff and faculty began re-entering the premises, Costantino said.
Investigators from the Elyria Police Department have reached out to the Cleveland bureau of the FBI for assistance in locating the individual or group of people responsible for the incident, the release said.