The Palouse School was locked down following a report of someone being shot and killed
According to a news release from the Whitman County Sheriff’s office, shortly before 830 a.m. this (Fri) morning, an anonymous caller reported they had been in an argument with their mother and stated they had “shot and killed her.” The caller provided an address of where the incident took place, which was adjacent to the School in Palouse. In addition, the caller indicated he was suicidal and was armed. Based on the information, the school was immediately notified and placed in lockdown.
Deputies, Washington State Patrol troopers and local law enforcement, along with medical responders from Pullman Fire, responded to the call. Deputies were able to establish contact with the resident inside the home where the incident was alleged to have occurred and verified no shooting or incident had taken place.
The Sheriff’s Office was able to obtain additional information to verify the call was likely a “SWATTING” incident, and a false report. (SWATTING is a term for reporting or making a prank call to emergency services in an attempt to bring about the response of a large number of armed police officers and first responders to a particular address).
Authorities are looking to see if the caller in this case can be tracked down or identified.
Based on some of the preliminary information, it appears the caller was from out of the area and possibly out of the country.
False reporting of this nature is a criminal offense but can be difficult to prosecute without the ability to track the origination of the call. SWATTING is also very disruptive as it commonly ties up a significant number of first responders and can place schools and communities on lockdown or on edge for extended periods of time.
The incident remains under investigation.
