According to an update from the Janesville Police Department, yesterday morning they received notification of a series of “swatting” calls in southeastern Wisconsin. The notification from Sergeant Kohler at the Rock County Sheriff's Department indicated there were five schools in Southeastern Wisconsin affected by the “Swatting” calls. These “Swatting Calls” were reported to be computer generated and were very similar in nature. In some cases swatting calls are robotic indicating there is an active shooter in a school. The intent of these swatting calls is to elicit a response from emergency responders.
Yesterday at 11:10 a.m. the Rock County Communications Center received a suspicious call reporting an active shooter at Craig High School. The caller stated there was an active shooter and there were casualties. The communications center staff recognized some inconsistencies with how this call was being reported that alerted them to it being a “swatting call.” The call was taken seriously and immediately vetted for legitimacy as the information was coming in to the dispatch center. The goal of the response was to ensure the school was safe, all staff and students were safe, and the incident was not occurring. Officer Jauch, who is assigned to Craig High School, was able to immediately confirm the event was not occurring.
Police are assuring the community that Janesville Schools are safe. The call regarding an active shooter was fake and unsubstantiated. Police are still working to investigate the origin of the call to prevent further incidents.