MARION – As part of an overarching national trend, Marion High School Wednesday was subject to a “swatting” hoax regarding a false report of a school shooting. This call was made to the Marion Police Department and likely other area schools.
According to a statement from Marion Unit 2 Superintendent Dr. Keith Oates, the safety and security of Marion students is the school district’s top priority, so the district worked diligently with the Marion Police Department to investigate this report. However, upon investigation, it was deemed a false report, and likely part of a bigger national trend that has been spreading via multiple phone calls to the Marion Police Department and several other towns within close proximity and via social media platforms.
Marion Police Chief David Fitts released a statement Wednesday afternoon saying that at 10 a.m. Wednesday, the Marion Police Department’s Dispatch Center received a call from an individual stating that six Marion High School students had been shot.
Officers responded to the school and Marion Police Department officials immediately contacted the high school. Fitts says it was quickly learned that no incident had occurred at Marion High School, and no student, teacher, or visitor had been harmed in any way, and no suspicious person was currently at, or had been at the school. He says no incident happened and children were safe.
Oates says Marion Unit 2 always takes all matters involving student safety seriously and will remain diligent in maintaining a secure and welcoming educational environment for students. Fortunately, Wednesday’s matter was determined to be false, and the school district was able to continue with its regular school day.
Oates also highlighted the importance of encouraging your child to let an adult know if they see or hear anything to say something. Being proactive about these matters is one of the most effective ways we can keep our school safe according to Oates.
Other schools in our area and across the state were also affected by this hoax Wednesday.
Centralia High School, Salem High School, and Mt. Vernon High School all received a call from what has been reported as an “adult male,” or an “adult male with a foreign accent.” Mt. Vernon Police Chief Trent Page says the caller gave inaccurate information about the schools, such as room numbers that don’t exist in the buildings.
According to Page, all available MVPD officers, Jefferson County Sheriff’s deputies, the Mt. Vernon Fire Department, and Litton’s Ambulance Service responded to the high school. The school was placed on lockdown and even though the School Resource Officer advised there was no issue in the building, officers swept the school to insure the students and staff were all safe.
Page says he’s thankful the incident was just a training opportunity and not an actual emergency situation. Police were unable to “ping” the calls and it’s believed they were made through a computer app. Page says State officials were notified of the events and they believe the calls were made from outside the U.S.
The Carbondale Police Department responded to a hoax call regarding an active shooter at Carbondale Community High School at 9:59 a.m. The School Resource Officer was present, and additional officers arrived within two minutes, but no threats were discovered.
Carbondale Police contacted the elementary district, which then initiated a lockdown as a precautionary measure.
At 10:45 a.m., Carbondale Community High School resumed its usual activities.
Herrin Police provided extra security at Herrin Schools after officials learned about the false active shooter reports Wednesday.
Murphysboro, Vienna and Eldorado along with schools in the Metro East such as Granite City and schools up north in Dixon and Stephenson County also received “swatting” calls Wednesday.
(Information for this story provided by our sister station WMIX in Mt. Vernon and from information received by WQRL News in Marion.)