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The threatening phone calls started pouring in Thursday morning, March 30, falsely claiming there was an active shooter at various schools across the state, according to New York State Police.
The calls triggered lockdowns for students and teachers at several schools in the Capital Region, including:
Albany County
Albany High School - Activated lockdown procedures shortly before 9 a.m. after the Albany Police Department received a call saying there were shooting victims at the high school.
“A thorough investigation by school staff in partnership with the police determined that the report was completely unsubstantiated,” Albany Police said in a statement. The lockdown was lifted after approximately 20 minutes.
Bell Top Elementary - The Town of North Greenbush Police Department responded to reports of an active shooter. Shortly before 10 a.m., police confirmed that the building had been cleared and that students were being brought into the building from buses. The school activated lockout procedures. At 10:30 a.m., police said classes were resuming as normal and an officer would remain on campus.
“The initial responding officers and all staff did an outstanding job in responding to this incident,” North Greenbush Police said on Facebook. “All members followed their training and this could not have gone smoother.”
Rensselaer County
Troy High School and Troy Middle School - Shortly after 9 a.m., Troy Police said officers were responding to reports of an active shooter at both the middle and high school, triggering a large police response. Students and teachers were told to remain in their classroom while police investigated.
Just before 9:30 a.m., Troy Police announced that a “methodical” search of both the middle and high school had been done, and there was no active threat.
Officers were being assigned to other Troy schools, though no threats had been received at any other locations.
“We want our students/staff to feel safe & secure,” Troy Police said in a statement.
Saratoga County
Saratoga Springs High School - Police received a fake swatting call about an “event” at the high school.
“Please know that our school is currently safe with no credible threats,” the Saratoga Springs City School District said in a statement.
State Police said all of the swatting calls were determined to be unfounded. The agency is working with federal and local agencies to investigate the threats.
Hours after the hoax calls, the New York State Unified Teachers union, which represents more than 600,000 members, issued the following statement:
“As our nation reels and mourns schoolchildren lost in yet another mass shooting, today’s incidents are a new low in callousness and depravity. These swatting attacks endanger our brave members of law enforcement, terrorize children, educators and parents, and waste valuable resources.
"We know the FBI and local law enforcement are doing everything they can to catch these perpetrators, and we look forward to the day when they are brought to justice.”
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