A rash of “swatting” calls struck a number of schools across the region and the state on Monday, March 27, 2023. The calls struck schools in Springfield, Ozark, and Branson with false reports of an active shooter on the campus.
Swatting is when someone makes a false call about an active criminal situation, such as a school shooting or terrorist attack, to incite a massive response from public responders. It can be done to provoke a lockdown at facilities like a school, or an unexpected response against an individual person.
Swatting has resulted in unintentional severe consequences, such as a 2017 incident in Wichita, Kansas, where a man in California instituted a swatting call over an online game of Call of Duty.
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