On Tuesday, false reports of school shootings dispatched police officers to K-12 schools in four districts across the state.
All schools in Saginaw Township were put in “secure mode" after police received a false phone threat reporting an active shooter in Nouvel Catholic Central High School.
Saginaw Undersheriff Miguel Gomez said even if the threat of a shooter is fake, it's still a traumatic event, especially for students and law enforcement.
“Most of the officers have children, and anytime there's a threat to a school they are going to respond as fast as they can,” Gomez said.
Calling in false tips to dispatch law enforcement is called “swatting”. Gomez said the Saginaw City Police Department has prosecuted a number of students that have made phone threats in the past. He said some cases resulted in felony charges.
In a statement, Attorney General Dana Nessel said anyone found guilty of swatting will serve jail time and face fines of up to fifty-thousand dollars.
Authorities said the slew of threats this week turned out to be a "coordinated campaign” which is now under investigation by the FBI.
