Police: False school threat called in by person posing as employee
ALEXANDRIA, Ind. (WISH) — The superintendent of Alexandria-Monroe Junior-Senior High School says classes will be back in session Tuesday with added security.
It comes as News 8 learns more about what prompted a lockdown and evacuation.
Troopers say it took three minutes for officers to respond to the school on Monday. Police determined the report was just a threat about a minute later. Students were taken to a nearby church with their parents and guardians. Indiana State Police Sgt. Scott Keegan told the public that any school threat, real or perceived, is not taken lightly.
“Responding units arrived on the scene within three minutes of the call. So and we’re talking multiple agencies from multiple counties, and local areas, the police response was overwhelming in this situation. That shows, again, the dedication of law enforcement to keep students safe in their schools. So, again, we’re not on high alert. We’re always ready for this call to come in, and the response time for this incident is outstanding,” Keegan said.
This follows two other recent incidents reported last week. One was Friday, a mass bomb threat emailed to dozens of Indiana school districts. State police say the threat remains un-substantiated but offer no updates on potential suspects, and last Wednesday in Illinois, 21 schools received “swatting calls” that forced them to close.
Those calls included false “active shooter” claims. Police are now working to track down who made the call and want anyone with information on what happened to call the Indiana State Police’s Pendleton post.