FARGO (KFGO) – A Fargo Police spokeswoman says the department responded to phone calls related to a threat that involved schools Thursday morning. All of the city’s public high schools were on lockdown for at least several minutes between 10:00 – 11:00 a.m.
Police say the Red River Regional Dispatch Center received calls at approximately 9:35 a.m. and 9:59 a.m. indicating active shooter situations were occurring at area schools, including Ben Franklin Middle School and North High School. School Resource Officers (SROs) and additional law enforcement responded and deemed the threats to be a hoax that originated from outside the region.
FPD Lt. Bill Ahlfeldt confirmed that schools in Bismarck and Grand Forks also received the same type of calls. Jamestown Police say a phone threat from a caller claiming they were a shooter intending to target the high school came in just after 10:00 a.m., but the school was cleared of any threat within ten minutes of the call. Minot Police confirmed an active shooter threat was received for the high school there as well and was determined to be false.
An email sent to Fargo North parents from Principal Travis Christensen said after a call was received by local dispatch indicating an active shooter situation was occurring at the school, they enacted emergency response protocols. The school was checked by law enforcement which confirmed there was no threat to the school and deemed the call a hoax. The email said a similar call was received for Ben Franklin Middle School just prior to the one for North.
Earlier this week at least nine cities in Minnesota received hoax calls to 911 making active shooter threats against schools across Minnesota including in Brainerd, Bemidji, Alexandria, and Crookston.
A similar wave of swatting calls last swept across North Dakota in October. Swatting is a report of a fake emergency to authorities.
Fargo Police say a full investigation will be completed to see if it can be determined who called in the hoaxes and even though no threats were deemed credible, they are providing additional presence near schools today.
