ROCHESTER — Multiple schools in Minnesota went into lockdown Wednesday morning after a wave of false shooting reports hit districts.
It's unclear just how many districts were affected as of Wednesday afternoon, but the the so-called 'swattings' were reported from Rochester to Mankato, Austin to Cloquet.
The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension said it was tracking multiple false reports of school shootings across the state, where people have claimed there are active shooters or mass casualties in classrooms. No reported incident was real.
The BCA "is tracking these reports and keeping local law enforcement apprised of the situation," officials said in a statement.
Rochester police and Olmsted County deputies searched Lourdes High School shortly after someone reported a man with a rifle shooting people inside the building around 10 a.m. Rochester law enforcement confirmed no one was harmed inside the Catholic high school as most students were in convocation at the time police arrived.
Police say the call that put Lourdes into lockdown was from someone with an internet-based phone number and an out-of-state area code who appears not to have disguised their voice, though it's unclear whether a man or woman made the call.
"This is just a despicable act," Olmsted County Sheriff Kevin Torgerson said at a press conference shortly after the lockdown at Lourdes was lifted. "It just really makes me said to know that somebody would be willing to do this."
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