Superintendent of schools Thomas Scarice says:
Last evening the Westport Police Department was informed of the potential of an international group planning to send swatting calls nationwide to schools reporting that a shooter was in the school building.
The information was shared with chiefs of police statewide. The Connecticut State Police command staff was also notified. The information was described as very vague.
Given the (Rosh Hashanah) holiday, the WPD shared the information. We remained on standby in the event Westport received this potential swatting call. The WPD confirmed that a call was received identifying Staples High School with information similar to the warning last night.
As a precaution, a number of WPD officers were dispatched to Staples. They walked the building, particularly the bathrooms, the place identified in the swatting call. The entire facility was cleared by the WPD.
Westport Police presence at Staples today, after the swatting call.
I have been in communication with Police Chief Foti Koskinsas. We agreed that an additional presence will be on, and near, our campuses tomorrow, all arriving well before school starts.
Fortunately, our effective partnership with the WPD enabled us to prepare well in advance for this potential report. Although the holiday made it easier with our schools largely empty, we did not soften our preparation, and the WPD communicated an assertive response once the actual call was received.
A swatting call is a false report to emergency services to prompt a strong police response to a specific address. The goal is to frighten, harass, or cause problems for the target.
I can assure the community that our strong safety protocols and continued partnership with the WPD provide a safe school environment for all of our students and staff.
Thank you Dan for sharing this with the community. You perform an invaluable service, now and everyday.
What is wrong with people in this country?
Scooter,
What is wrong is the erosion of the family. Parents that have delegated their fundamental responsibility to others and then curse them for screwing up their kids. Hillary once said: “It Takes A Village” which skirted the whole truth that it takes a village of intact families. Westport has been working on this since the fifties.
Agree with everything Scooter and Eric re US family issues, but Dan’s piece mentions the threat coming from an “international group”, presumably phoning ’em in. It’s been widely reported that there exist foreign countries who’d like nothing more than to sow chaos in our elections. Perhaps they’re aware that election here are often held in…schools.
Orwell fulfilled is where we’re at these days.