DETROIT (WXYZ) — The Detroit Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is investigating after multiple schools across the state received swatting calls.
Swatting refers to the practice of making a prank call to law enforcement in order to get a large number of armed police officers to a particular address.
Tuesday morning, Detroit police received a call from an anonymous caller about a shooting in Renaissance High School. Police responded to the school building to find that the call was completely false.
The same exact call went out to Ann Arbor police about an alleged shooting at Huron High School. That call was also false. Police say the apparent spoof call appears to be a part of a nationwide issue. Both police departments are investigating.
"I want to know if it’s real or not," said Sharon Veasley, who is a parent. "My kids are grown, but I would be terrorized to send them to school nowadays. I would be totally worried."
Police say this happened at around nine Michigan schools. Police are still working to determine the origin of the calls.
"I never had to worry about that going to high school, elementary, middle school, and it just seems like throughout every grade level, it’s becoming more and more common," said Letia Knight, who has students in Detroit Public Schools Community District.
A spokesperson with DPSCD said they did not have to close school as a result of the threat.
"There are kids who actually go to this school and there are people getting calls at work saying, hey you have to pick your kid up because there’s a bomb threat. It’s pretty scary," Knight said.
The problem has become severe in recent years with Attorney General Dana Nessel making multiple statements regarding the seriousness of the "prank." Tuesday, the AG stepped in once again to remind people behind the swatting that they could face upward of 20 years behind bars for making the calls.
“Threats of violence in our schools disrupt the classroom, tax our local law enforcement agencies and harm our students’ sense of safety,” Nessel said in video statement. “Whether these are real threats made by those intent on doing harm or pranks made by kids trying to get a day off, they are real crimes with real consequences. It’s critical that adults and students alike understand the seriousness of these threats and the criminal charges they could face.”
Nessel says some Michigan law enforcement agencies have reported hundreds of threats on social media just in their community.
Parents say they hope to see fewer threats in the near future.
"You never know what kind of issues maybe a child is having at home and is causing them to do these kinds of things or make these kinds of threats, but it definitely makes me nervous sending (my kids) to school," Knight said.
