Police: Reports of shootings at Potsdam, Gouverneur, Canton all a hoax; FBI investigating

Mar. 30—POTSDAM — A call reporting shooting victims at Potsdam High School was a hoax, according to an email from the Potsdam Police Department sent out Thursday morning.

Other districts in St. Lawrence County, including Canton and Gouverneur, received similar false shooting reports. A similar fake shooting call happened in Plattsburgh.

On Wednesday and Thursday, school districts elsewhere in New York, Pennsylvania and Utah received similar hoax shooting and bomb reports.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has been notified and is looking into the incidents.

"The FBI is aware of the numerous swatting incidents wherein a report of an active shooter at a school is made. The FBI takes swatting very seriously because it puts innocent people at risk. While we have no information to indicate a specific and credible threat, we will continue to work with our local, state, and federal law enforcement partners to gather, share, and act upon threat information as it comes to our attention. We urge the public to remain vigilant, and report any and all suspicious activity and/or individuals to law enforcement immediately," said Sarah Ruane, a public affairs specialist for the FBI in Albany.

"Although there does not appear to be a threat to the district, parents should expect an increased police presence at the school today," Potsdam police wrote in an email sent to the Times Thursday morning.

Village police said they received the call at 9:33 a.m. They responded with county sheriff's deputies and state troopers.

"Potsdam Police Department members along with St. Lawrence County Sheriff Deputies and NYS Troopers were on scene within minutes and an immediate sweep of the building was completed and the building was declared safe. Before our patrols could clear, similar calls began coming into neighboring school districts," Potsdam PD's email said.

Canton police made a similar post on its Facebook page.

"Officers from the Canton Police Department, along with assistance from the St. Lawrence County Sheriff's Office, New York State Police and Border Patrol conducted a complete sweep of the entire school and property. There were no signs of any shooter, victims, or any other suspicious activity. It appears this specific incident/threat has occurred throughout our neighboring communities and across the state. We will do our best to update you with any other information as it becomes available," it reads.

Gouverneur Police Department wrote in a statement that it also received one of the calls and determined it to be a fake report.

"This morning, March 30, several area school districts, including Gouverneur, Potsdam and Canton, have received unfounded threats of violence," the Gouverneur police statement reads. "According to law enforcement, these identical messages did not target any specific building or person(s). This act is a crime, known as swatting, and is a harassment technique that involves calling in an emergency police response against an innocent target. There have been several more of these 'swatting' calls made throughout the region. At this time, the Gouverneur Central School District has been cleared by law enforcement and the threat was deemed non-credible. Students and staff are safe and back to normal activities"

Between Wednesday and Thursday morning, media reports show there have been numerous hoax threats of shootings and bombings at schools in the Hudson Valley, Pennsylvania and Utah.

Plattsburgh City Police posted a report on its Facebook page saying they received a prank call reporting shots fired at Plattsburgh High School.

According to Malone Village Police Chief Christopher J. Premo, the police department received a call at 9:38 a.m. Thursday reporting an active shooter at Franklin Academy.

"An individual with a heavy Middle Eastern accent claiming that he was a student at Franklin Academy said there was a student shot in the bathroom," Chief Premo told the Malone Telegram, adding that there were already two officers on the scene, one a school resource officer.

"We had an officer already at the school on an unrelated complaint so they were able to determine quickly, as well as the other officer that responded, that it was a prank," he added, and if the department didn't have officers on scene, the response would have been different. "Everything was calm."

According to Chief Premo, after getting the hoax call, his department was able to learn it appeared to come from Missouri and notified the FBI.

Schools in Yonkers, Chappaqua, Pleasantville, Brewster and Putnam Valley say they received calls of shots fired, according to a story from News12 in Westchester County.

In Utah on Wednesday, 911 calls reporting hoax threats at multiple schools appear to have come from an automated program set up to make the calls almost simultaneously, according to an article from 2KUTV. The Utah Department of Public Safety said "those calls were traced to an IP address outside the United States, but officials couldn't specify its origin. It also wasn't immediately clear if it was rerouting the calls from elsewhere, or if the person responsible was also in the unnamed foreign country," 2KUTV reported.

At least three instances of false threats were targeted at schools in Westchester and Putnam counties, according to an email sent to the Mount Pleasant Central School District community by Superintendent Peter Giarrizzo, according to a story on lohud.com.

"In Chappaqua, Horace Greeley High School went into lockdown Thursday morning after New Castle police received an anonymous call saying there was a shooting there, according to a note on the district's website," lohud reports.

News outlets from around Pennsylvania reported shooting and bomb threats that turned out to be hoaxes, including in the Lehigh Valley area and in Western Pennsylvania.

St. Lawrence County Sheriff Brooks J. Bigwarfe released a statement regarding the incidents stating that law enforcement agencies received phone calls that active shooter incidents were occurring at three schools, Canton Central, Potsdam Central and Gouverneur Central.

Law enforcement responded to each school and put them in lockdown. After "tactically and meticulously" clearing each school, it was determined that the reports were "completely unfounded and all students and staff were safe."

"The St. Lawrence County Sheriff's Office with assistance of the State Police and local municipality police then checked on all the other schools in St. Lawrence County where no issues were reported," Sheriff Bigwarfe said.

Sheriff Bigwarfe also said that his office and other law enforcement agencies take all calls of this nature as real incidents and serious no matter how dubious they may seem.

"The St. Lawrence County Sheriff's Office takes swatting very seriously because it puts innocent people at risk," Sheriff Bigwarfe said. "While we have no information to indicate a specific and credible threat, we will continue to work with our local, state, and federal law enforcement partners to gather, share, and act upon threat information as it comes to our attention."

The sheriff's office is urging the public to remain vigilant and report any and all activity or individuals to law enforcement immediately by contacting them at 315-379-2222.