FAUX FRIDAY / SCHOOL SHOOTING FAKE CALLS PLAGUE POLICE

Photo: Reuters. 

In a major California city in one day more than half a dozen high schools were hit by fake campus intruder reports. The school shootings turned out to be fake, but the trauma is real for all concerned from police to faculty to parents—not to mention students. 

 Lately, the media, including NPR, has been investigating a series of seemingly connected hoax calls reporting shootings and bomb threats to schools nationwide — a practice called "swatting." The calls prompt a terrifying, resource-heavy emergency response that includes police, SWAT teams, ambulances and more. 

 On Morning Edition, NPR's Jenna McLaughlin CLICK HERE provides an in-depth analysis of these hoaxes, along with firsthand accounts from individuals at affected schools, who describe how the incidents have shaken impacted communities to the core. 

 One school leader in San Diego reports the police informed him that so far the majority of these hoaxes have originated in Europe. The caller gave frightening detail to police right down to the school room where the shooting was ongoing and where dozens were being gunned down. 

Other school leaders charged with school safety remark law enforcement response has been thorough and professional. 

 As a result, a lot of folks are angry at the hoaxers and point to just another example of how sick the direction of our society continues to evolve, a police spokesman added. 

 One law enforcement beat reporter in the San Francisco Bay Area pointed out “the taxpayer is the one who gets hit. Our society knows our police state needs fixing, but not to the point where police will be destroyed. Police integrity keeps America from becoming a third world country, where law enforcement is often the enemy. We need to fix our police and give them more training and resources to fight the stupid and criminal elements in our societies. Personally, I will still call the cops if my house is being broken into. I truly believe the vast majority of citizens in this country will do the same. Sadly, there will always be punk elements, but I can sleep at night knowing the police are on the job.”