MFL MarMac among Iowa school districts targeted with active shooter ‘swatting calls’
MFL MarMac was one of over two dozen Iowa schools that, on March 21, were targeted in “swatting calls” that referenced an alleged active shooter scenario.
According to Department of Public Safety (DPS) officials, the first swatting call originated in Clinton County at approximately 8 a.m., and the last call was received at 10:30 a.m. in Creston. Officials estimated approximately 30 calls were received by local law enforcement agencies.
The call in reference to MFL MarMac came in to the Clayton County Communications Center at approximately 9:55 a.m., said the Monona Police Department in a Facebook post.
A “swatting call” refers to a false claim intended to trigger an immediate and widespread law enforcement deployment or emergency service response to a specific location. Hoax reports such as the ones experienced last week commonly consist of claims of serious violent attacks, such as a bomb threat, active shooter and/or a hostage situation, said DPS.
Iowa Department of Public Safety Commissioner Stephan K. Bayens said these false reports are a tactic intended to illicit a large-scale law enforcement response.
“The design of it is to create confusion and chaos. It’s designed to draw a large law enforcement presence to a school even though there is no active threat. And by all accounts and for all intents and purposes, it appears thus far that is what Iowa experienced,” he said.
Immediately after receiving calls, local law enforcement and school officials reported all relevant information to the DPS Division of Intelligence and Fusion Center, which then re-disseminated the information to local law enforcement agencies throughout the state. Bayens said this proactive information sharing allows schools and law enforcement to better determine their response protocols should one of their schools receive a similar call.
“By reporting these calls to us, we can quickly inform our school and law enforcement partners, which, in this case, may have impacted the nature of their response and stemmed the flow of more calls to other communities,” Bayens said.
The Monona Police Department was on scene in two minutes, and surrounding agencies were en route to assist.
“It was quickly determined that the 911 call had been a hoax and that there was no armed threat at the school, nor was there any threat to students or staff,” the Monona Police Department Facebook post read. “A check of the building was conducted as a safety precaution.”
The department said law enforcement remained at the school until the end of the day out of an abundance of caution.
The Mar-Mac Police Department took a similar approach at the middle school in McGregor.
“We were in immediate contact with the McGregor Center this morning informing staff of the ‘swatting call,’” a post on the Mar-Mac Police Facebook page stated that day. “We will continue our presence in and around the school as we have prior to today.”
DPS said it is continuing to work with the Federal Bureau of Investigation to investigate and identify the caller. Bayens said the initial information leads investigators to believe the calls are similar in nature and likely originated from a single source.
State school safety officials and Gov. Kim Reynolds were able to quickly inform the public about the swatting calls as part of a scheduled press conference and launch of a new school safety app called Safe+Sound Iowa. The app was made available to all public school districts and accredited non-public schools today. Parents, students, and community members can anonymously report any tips to law enforcement through dps.iowa.gov/SafeandSoundIowa, downloading the free Safe+Sound Iowa app, or by calling 800-224-6018.
