Police respond to active shooter hoaxes at two schools in North Fargo

FARGO, N.D. (KVRR) — Police were called to two swatting incidents this morning at two North Fargo schools.

The Red River Dispatch Center received one call just after 9:30 AM Thursday and another around 10:00 regarding active shooter situations at Ben Franklin Middle School and Fargo North.

Similar calls were received in Grand Forks, Jamestown, Minot and other North Dakota towns.

Police say a school resource officer at one of the Fargo schools quickly responded and deemed the threat a hoax originating from outside the region.

“All the more reason that we have to respond to each one of these the exact way every time until we can prove that it’s a hoax or, if it is real, we’ll do exactly what we have to do to make sure the school or whatever facility is safe at the time. We’re going to treat this like an actual threat. We’re going to treat this as something is actually happening until we can prove otherwise,” Fargo Police Lt. Bill Ahlfeldt said.

The department is working with the FBI to investigate the hoax calls.