(WSVN) - Multiple higher education across campuses South Florida were on high alert following what appeared to be false active shooter calls made to police.
There were three calls made Tuesday morning to three local higher education institutions in South Florida and at least three others in other parts of the state, causing confusion, chaos and a massive police response.
In a dispatch call a voice was heard saying, “There is an active shooter inside the college at Broward College.”
All the calls were made before noon.
The first alert was made to Florida International University, just before 9:30 a.m. The campus-wide alert was described as a “dangerous situation” and prompted those in the area to evacuate.
According to FIU Police, that incident began inside one of their Acamedic Health buildings. As a result, nearby streets were closed as police investigated.
Nearly 30 minutes after the alert went out, FIU Police confirmed officers were on the scene searching the building but that the call appeared to be false.
“At this time, it appears the call was a ‘swatting’ incident. Swatting calls are false reports of critical incidents in order to illicit a response from police and fire rescue tactical units. Swatting is illegal,” said FIUPD Chief Alexander Casas in a press release.
An investigation is underway to determine the origin of the call.
While police investigated the situation at FIU, Fort Lauderdale Police were called to Broward College regarding heavy police activity at one of their buildings in the downtown area.
Police confirmed there was no threat or victims, and the all-clear was given just after 11:30 a.m.
Fort Lauderdale officials said in a statement that the source of the call is now their primary focus.
A worker in Fort Lauderdale said whoever called in the reports think they wasted many people’s time.
Terrified students called 911 after seeing the police response.
“It’s the Broward College FAU building,” said a woman whispering on one of the calls. “There are police in the building. I think they’re police. They told me to go back to my room. I’m not sure what I should be doing right now.”
City College Hollywood was also reportedly targeted by a false active shooter call. After a brief search, police found no active threat to the campus.
In that call, the dispatcher asked the caller, “And you said it’s on the second floor?”
“In art class, there are [inaudible] victims inside art class,” said the unknown caller.
Authorities are now investigating these incidents and believe the person who called in the false reports was involved in all three scenes.
Law enforcement officers want to remind the community that hoax calls are taken seriously and they are determined to find out who made these calls.
“It’s not funny at all,” said Joe Askerberg, who works downtown. “You see how serious they have to take it. You see how many police officers are on scene. They could be doing other things, and it’s certainly just a big waste of time.”
The FBI released a statement that read as follows, “The FBI is aware of the numerous swatting incidents wherein a report of an active shooter at a school is made. The FBI takes swatting very seriously because it puts innocent people at risk. While we have no information to indicate a specific and credible threat, we will continue to work with our local, state, and federal law enforcement partners to gather, share, and act upon threat information as it comes to our attention. We urge the public to remain vigilant, and report any and all suspicious activity and/or individuals to law enforcement immediately.”
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