Police respond to Sumter High after receiving threat; 'swatting' call trend sweeps S.C. schools

Sumter officers deemed a threat call to Sumter High School was not credible Wednesday morning.

Shelley Galloway, spokeswoman for Sumter School District, said law enforcement received a telephone call regarding a threat directed at Sumter High School after 10 a.m. Officers responded, and determined the threat was not credible.

Tonyia McGirt, public information officer for the Sumter Police Department, said an investigation is continuing.

“We are aware there were other schools across South Carolina and in other states that have received similar calls over the past few weeks,” she said.

Schools in Horry, Aiken and other counties in South Carolina have reported "swatting" calls on Wednesday. Swatting is defined as a criminal harassment tactic of deceiving emergency services in the act of making a prank call in an attempt to bring  a large number of armed police officers to a particular address.

“The FBI is aware of the numerous swatting incidents wherein a report of an active shooter at a school is made. Similar incidents have occurred recently across the country,” said Kevin Wheeler, public affairs specialist for the FBI Columbia Division. “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.”

“Thousands of students, educators and families were terrorized by a rash of hoax phone calls reporting instances of gunshots fired on school campuses,” the S.C. Coalition for Safer Schools said Wednesday. “In response, our state’s law enforcement professionals and educators put into practice the active shooter training that has sadly become a common and necessary part of life in American schools. While all reports of active shooters on campuses were fortunately found to be fake, the trauma inflicted on students, educators, families and law enforcement officers is and remains very real.”

As noted in the coalition’s policy agenda, there is no single policy that can completely eliminate the threats and violence children are facing in schools and communities. However, policies can mitigate and reduce violence in communities, while no policy can reverse the damage of violent acts after they occur.

“The calls that shut down our schools today were very much an act of violence, and this fact makes the need for leadership and proactive policy action more urgent now than ever,” the coalition said Wednesday. “For this reason, the members of the S.C. Coalition for Safer Schools renew our call for local, state and national leaders to give child well-being and safety the highest possible priority in their work.”