Several Georgia counties received false claims Wednesday about active school shooters, state officials said.
It’s become a disturbing national trend, experts say.
Thirty-four states and Washington, D.C., have received such false claims, also known as “swatting,” since early September, according to a National Association of School Resource Officers review of news coverage.
“These hoaxes are far from harmless,” the association said via email Wednesday afternoon to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “They can exacerbate mental health issues already more prevalent because of the pandemic. They tie up valuable law enforcement resources. And they can even cause injury.”
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Channel 2 Action News reported in September a Riverdale police officer crashed his vehicle headed to a reported active shooter threat at a Clayton County middle school that happened to be false.
Alabama’s state school superintendent said several high schools received false active shooter reports Tuesday. At least five Washington schools received similar hoaxes on Monday, according to news reports in that state.
In Georgia, most of the false threats occurred at schools near the coast.
No state or federal agencies have been able to confirm the total number of threats yet, although at least four school districts confirmed threats and over a dozen school districts may have received threats.
Gov. Brian Kemp released a...
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