A hoax involving false reports of active shooters at schools targeted many Illinois school districts on Wednesday, law enforcement officials report.
Granite City High School was seen evacuating before 11 a.m., with some saying they’d heard there was an active shooter. District officials released a statement shortly after saying that all students and staff were safe. The reports ended up being false.
It wasn’t just Granite City that received a hoax call — it happened all over the state, including places like Collinsville, Marion and Rockford.
In a statement, the Clifton County Sheriff wrote that “several law enforcement agencies throughout the State of Illinois received calls reporting active shooter situations in their schools. These reports have been unfounded as of this time and appear to be some type of hoax.”
The superintendent of Collinsville schools wrote that "similar calls are occurring throughout the metro east and across the State of Illinois in an attempt to falsely report emergencies, disrupt law enforcement and gain media coverage."
A statement from Granite City School District #9 came out at 4 p.m. Wednesday. Superintendent Stephanie Cann wrote, "This afternoon we were informed that the Statewide Terrorism and Intelligence Center (STIC) received hoax active shooter calls at seven Illinois schools this morning. It is possible these are linked to similar threats in IL and communities around the U.S.
While the STIC currently has no information concerning credible threats related to school safety, they advise law enforcement, public safety, and private sector security officials to remain vigilant and report all suspicious behavior to local police agencies."
Out of an abundance of caution, schools have been notified and will have increased police presences for the rest of the day Wednesday.
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