Forest Park Middle School added to list of false active shooter threats reported across Wisconsin

 

FRANKLIN, Wis. (CBS 58) -- Multiple police cars and fire crews were seen at Forest Park Middle School Monday morning, after authorities said the school received calls of a potential active shooter threat-- Franklin police have confirmed it to be yet another "swatting call" hoax.

Authorities evacuated everyone from Forest Park Middle School out of precaution, after the school received a phone call from someone claiming to be armed inside the school.

Middle schoolers were immediately transported to Ben Franklin Elementary located down the street and were shortly sent to an undisclosed location.

Franklin police have now confirmed this is the latest in a wave of fake reports--at least a dozen of which have been reported across the state of Wisconsin since last Thursday--known as "swatting calls."

CBS 58 spoke to expert Mac Hardy who is the current director of operations at NASRO--The National Association of School Resource Officers. He said so far this school year, 30 states have reported receiving these hoax calls. Hardy said he recalls a similar trend back in the '90s, involving bomb threats.

"You know, back in the day when I worked in schools, we used to get bomb threats and we figured they'd come in on Fridays or before a big test day, and you know, when kids wanted to be dismissed early possibly and so forth, and we took those seriously," he said.

We spoke to a special ed teacher who told us parents were not cooperating with police and staying put. Some parents seemed cool and collected but others were in tears outside of Forest Park Middle School, scared that their kid was in danger.

Experts say, especially after the Uvalde mass shooting, which is considered the deadliest attack on a school since Sandy Hook in 2012, it's normal for parents to want to rush to the scene. Even though police blatantly state not to because it adds to the chaos, some said it needs to be part of law enforcement's active plan.

"They've always rushed to the schools, we always have to be prepared for that," said Hardy. "That's got to be part of your plan is the parents responding to the school when they hear that there's a threat or there's an incident inside the school."

Hardy said communication is important, and law enforcement has an obligation to be transparent with families on what that plan looks like if a potential active shooter situation does play out at any given school.

There's also a new term called 'The Uvalde Effect,' in which parents have distrust among police officers after we learned that they waited more than an hour to confront the gunman at that Texas elementary school. Again, experts say building trust comes with communication and if police are not being proactive about sharing those details, Hardy said parents can always reach out to their local police departments and find out what that plan of action looks like.