Chicago police said they responded to two false bomb threats at schools Wednesday, a practice known as swatting, creating traffic backups and confusion.
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In a swatting incident, someone falsely claims a bomb or mass shooting at a given location in order to draw a SWAT team response and potentially trigger a tragedy.
At 2:05 p.m., at Jones College Prep in Chicago’s South Loopreceived multiple calls of a bomb threat and a person with a gun, according to Chicago Police Central Control Group Deputy Chief Joe Bird. Based on the nature of the call, officers rushed to the scene, secured the school, and swept the school buildings, Bird said.
“At this point, we believe it was a swatting incident,” Bird said. “We know today was a very serious situation for the school, the community, and the families, and we just want to make sure everyone knows that we worked with CPS safety and security to ensure the safety of everyone.”
Bird said that John Hancock College Preparatory High School was another school who’s also reported to have been subjected to a swatting incident Wednesday.
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“Anyone who makes a threat to a school is a very serious matter,” Bird said. “It frightens everybody. It frightens the students, the administrators, the community — and that’s why the officers responded as swiftly as they did.”
