The Muscatine Joint Emergency Communication Center received a 911 call from an unknown individual at approximately 8:25 a.m. on Monday who reported there was a shooting that had just occurred at the Muscatine High School. This same type of call was received at several other emergency communication centers across eastern and central Iowa around the same time.
Members from Muscatine Police and Muscatine Fire departments along with the Muscatine County Sheriff’s Department responded to the Muscatine High School.
It was quickly determined that the 911 call had been a hoax and that there was no armed threat at the school, nor was there any threat to students or staff. The Muscatine High school and some surrounding schools were placed on a temporary lockdown while the incident was being resolved and a thorough check of the campus was being conducted.
Additional police presence remained at the high school in an effort to ease safety concerns of students and staff.
The incident remains under investigation and the Muscatine Police Department is working with outside agencies in an effort to identify those responsible. Anyone who may have information about this incident is asked to contact Sgt. Jeff DeVrieze at (563) 263 – 9922, ext. 629.
Muscatine Community School District Superintendent Clint Christopher and Muscatine Police Chief Tony Kies issued a statement late this morning regarding the incident.
“Our high school was ‘swatted’ this morning,” the statement read. “That means that a fake threat was called into the Muscatine Police Department from outside of the state of Iowa. Muscatine Police responded accordingly, swept the entire building, and once they informed us that there was no credible threat, we resumed the school day.”
Similar ‘swatting’ calls happened to other school districts across the state of Iowa, and have been occurring across the country for the past several months.
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