SPOKANE COUNTY, Wash – Students and staff in the Freeman School District south of Spokane were sent into lockdown because of a “swatting” hoax called into the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office.
Swatting is generally described as a prank call into emergency services in an attempt to bring a large amount of law enforcement to an area.
The Freeman School District says the call came in through the sheriff’s office and the district was immediately went into lockdown.
Deputies arrived and searched the campus, determining there was no threat, and all students and staff are safe.
“All Freeman Schools practice safety drills throughout the year to ensure staff and students know and understand these safety protocols,” Freeman School District administrators said in a note sent to families Monday. “In today’s situation, even though this is reported to be a hoax, it causes undue stress to staff, students, and families in Freeman and the Spokane area.”
Freeman School families and staff may be more susceptible to the impact of this type of incident, given the shooting that happened at Freeman High School in 2017.
The district said the schools have resumed normal operation Monday after the threat was determined to be a hoax.
COPYRIGHT 2024 BY KXLY. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN OR REDISTRIBUTED.
