FARGO (KVRR) – Fargo South High School was locked down Wednesday afternoon after a caller indicated there were bombs on the premises. School officials say the threat was investigated and considered not credible. They say it was most likely a “swatting” call, which is when someone reports a fake emergency. The following letter was sent to South High School parents:…
DEVILS LAKE, N.D. (KFGO/KVRR) – Schools in Devils Lake, Watford City, and other cities in North Dakota were victims of swatting call hoaxes Thursday. Police in Watford City say a staff member at an elementary school received a call from someone who said there was a person outside the building with a gun. Officers responded and put the school on…
ST. PAUL (KVRR) — Multiple swatting incidents are being reported across Minnesota. They include emailed bombing and shooting threats. Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension says at least 25 schools and nine Jewish facilities reported receiving these messages. Local law enforcement responded and they say no incidents have turned out to be real. They say the language in each threat is…
TACOMA, Wash. (AP) — A Washington state man is arrested for making more than 20 “swatting” calls to 11 states, including Minnesota, and to Edmonton in Canada. Authorities say 20-year-old Ashton Garcia’s calls prompted real emergency responses to his fake reports of bombs, shootings or other threats. Garcia used voice-over-internet technology to conceal his identity as he placed the calls…
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…
BARNESVILLE, Minn. (KVRR-KFGO) – Barnesville High School was one of the schools in the region that were hit Thursday by threatening messages. These calls were quickly determined to be hoaxes by authorities and there was no threat. School Superintendent Jon Ellerbusch says police were notified immediately and the person that sent the email threat was identified and arrested. State laws…
ALEXANDRIA, Minn. (KVRR) – Alexandria Police Chief Scott Kent believes swatting’ calls made to schools in his city, Fergus Falls and St. Paul last week came from a phone number IP address in Ethiopia. The calls were a hoax reporting an active shooter at the schools. Minneapolis, New Ulm, Fairmont, Rochester, Cloquet, Austin, Brainerd, Rosemount, Mankato, Grand Rapids, Bemidji, and…
HAWLEY, Minn. — A Hawley man becomes the center of a hoax 911 call in a tactic called swatting. A call went to the Red River Regional Dispatch Center around 4:30 Tuesday afternoon. Hear the full call here. It claimed there was a hostage situation in Todd Rendon’s home. “When I came out there I came out like this. I…
HAWLEY, Minn. — Law enforcement calls it “swatting.” Clay County Sheriff Mark Empting says that’s what happened this afternoon when deputies and other officers rushed to Hawley. Dispatch received a call from someone claiming that someone had been taken hostage at a home. Red River Valley Swat was headed to the scene but deputies arrived and spoke with the homeowner….
