People walk outside of Ogden High School after police responded to false threats of shots fired at Ogden High School in Ogden on Wednesday, March 29, 2023. Police agencies along the Wasatch Front and northern Utah responded to similar reports of school violence on Wednesday morning. (Kristin Murphy, Deseret News)
SALT LAKE CITY — Several schools were placed on lockdown Wednesday morning after a series of hoax calls reported an active school shooting situation. The calls came just days after the Covenant school shooting in Nashville, Tennessee left seven people dead.
The Utah Department of Public Safety told KSL TV’s Andrew Adams that in total, 13 schools received hoax calls, with the first coming in at 9:30 a.m.. The calls were traced back to one man’s IP address located outside of the country. DPS said it is continuing to investigate.
The Ogden School District announced that Ogden High School had been the victim of a hoax on Wednesday. A hoax call about shots fired had multiple agencies responding to the school this morning.
In a press conference, the Ogden City Police said the initial call falsely claimed that shots had been fired and that students had been shot.
Officers went through the school looking for what they thought was an active shooter. During the search, police learned the call was a hoax, but continued sweeping the school for any threats.
Police noted that the situation was traumatic for students, parents and officers.
The district said Ogden High students had been sent home for the day.
“Multiple schools have been the victim of this hoax today,” the district said.
The Salt Lake City Police Department said that West High School also received a report of an active shooter Wednesday morning. The SLCPD said it investigated and secured the school, but confirmed that it was a false report. Students are currently on spring break.
The SLCPD also said it was working with the FBI to find the caller
Caleb Price with Provo School District told KSL newsRadio that Provo High was in lockdown Wednesday morning because of a hoax threat. The school will be back to normal operation soon.
KSL NewsRadio also confirmed that a hoax call targeted Spanish Fork High. Police responded but found nothing.
Brigham City Police Department said it responded to a call about violence at Box Elder High. Police cleared the school and found that there wasn’t actually a threat.
The Moab City Police Department said the city had gotten hoax calls to its local schools, leading to them being locked down. Law enforcement responded and found no threat.
News outlets in Pennslyvania and Massachusetts also reported a series of hoax calls being made to local schools.