At least three different school districts in the Greater Cincinnati area received threatening phone calls Monday morning, according to announcements from each district.
Fairfield High School, Mason High School, Mason Middle School and Lakota West High School all received phone calls that were suspicious this morning.
Mason High School got one of the calls at 8:35 a.m. this morning; the middle school then also got a "nearly identical" cal at around 8:40 a.m., the district said. Police quickly determined the calls were part of a "swatting incident pattern" happening to schools across Ohio today, a spokesperson for Mason City School said.
Lakota West High School was placed on an internal lockdown for roughly two hours following the call they received before 9 a.m. this morning, according to the Journal-News. The lockdown was under the advisement of the West Chester Police Department, which determined multiple schools were receiving similar phone calls.
Still, out of "an abundance of caution," West Chester police brought in a canine unit to sweep the building; the school's lockdown lifted at around 11 a.m.
Fairfield police announced they were called to Fairfield High School this morning as well, after that school got one of the suspicious threats. Police and the Fairfield Fire Department checked the building and found it to be safe. Fairfield police also said that, out of an abundance of caution, officers would maintain an increased presence at the high school and other schools in Fairfield.
So far, none of the threats that came from these phone calls have been deemed credible by any investigating agency.
