‘Swatting’ incident causes shelter-in-place order at Clarkson University
Late Sunday night police called to campus
POTSDAM, New York (WWNY) - “It scared a lot of people last night. A lot of students received an alarming text message telling them that they may be in danger,” said Potsdam Police Chief Michael Ames.
The message lit up the phones of Clarkson students just after 9 p.m. Sunday, telling them to shelter in place after a report of possible shots fired.
“The easier we can communicate with campus, the safer everybody is going to be. We want to make sure we get information to them as quickly as possible just to keep everybody safe,” said Clarkson Director of Media Relations Jake Newman.
The order was lifted by 12:15 a.m. after police determined the report to be false.
Police say Clarkson was a victim of “swatting.” That’s when someone phones in a fake emergency to get a heavy emergency response to an area.
“It’s the world we live in,” said Ames.
Here’s what happened: someone dialed the Potsdam Police Department’s phone number just before 9 p.m., saying there was a man with a gun at Clarkson’s Library.
“The call actually concluded with the sound of gunfire in the background,” said Ames.
The call triggered a multi-agency response as police hurried to the Educational Resources Center to find nothing out of the ordinary. Still, they conducted a sweep of the entire campus, with nothing found. Students were able to move freely just after midnight.
“Almost immediately, they could disprove the report, but then everything that followed happened just as an abundance of caution,” said Ames.
While frustrating, Ames is looking at the situation as a learning experience for law enforcement.
“In my mind, it’s not a waste that this type of call came in. It demonstrates their capabilities and their willingness to do the job that we’re training them and equipping them for,” he said.
Ames says the call likely came from outside the U.S.
He says the same number was linked to another swatting incident that happened out of state last week. The investigation continues, and whoever is responsible could face charges.
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