UTICA, NY – Jones Elementary School in Utica was placed on lockdown after a phone call was received claiming an active shooter incident Thursday afternoon. After the lockdown and police sweep of the school grounds. investigators determined the incident to be a hoax.
This comes just one week after multiple schools across New Jersey were targeted in a similar hoax prompting massive police response across the Garden State.
According to police at around 12:20 p.m., officers were dispatched to Jones Elementary School after the caller reported an active shooter on school grounds.
“Immediately, school administrators placed the school into a lockout status, ensuring that all staff and students were behind locked doors and hidden from view,” the Utica Police Department said today in a statement. “The administrators, staff, and students should be commended for how they performed and immediately acted to secure the safety of the building and all inside.”
Upon arrival, police realized that there was no shooting incident and like the call was a hoax, commonly referred to as swatting.
Upon the arrival of Utica police officers, it was quickly determined that no active shooter was ongoing and that the call was fictitious in nature. Types of calls of this nature have been termed by some to be “swatting”.
Detectives said that this was not the first school swatting incident in the area, and they are currently investigating to see if other events are related over the past several days. At this time, there are no suspects and no arrests have been made.
Anyone with information can contact the Utica Police Department Criminal Investigations Division at (315) 223-3510.
Earlier in the morning, at around 11 am, schools in Utica were locked down because of an active shooter incident on Bristol Court. A man had barricaded himself inside a home and engaged in a standoff with police.