AURORA | Aurora Central High School was one of the Colorado schools contacted Wednesday with threats of gun violence that turned out to be false in what appears to have been a coordinated effort.
More than a dozen schools in cities across Colorado, including in Boulder, Englewood, Aspen and Durango, received phone calls threatening gun violence Feb. 22. None of the threats were found to be credible, but they prompted lockdowns and evacuations at some schools.
The call was made to Aurora Central at 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday, APD spokesperson Sydney Edwards said. Similar to reports in other places, the caller said that they were going to shoot up the school and gunshot noises could be heard in the background.
A school resource officer on campus investigated the threat, and more APD officers arrived to the scene. The school was placed on secure perimeter while the investigation took place.
By 9 a.m., Edwards said police had determined that the threat was unsubstantiated and gave an all-clear.
Edwards said that she couldn’t confirm that it was the same caller who had contacted other schools, but that it appeared to be the work of one person or a coordinated effort.
“It’s a bit too coincidental,” she said.
Aurora Central was the only school in Aurora Public Schools or the Cherry Creek School District that was threatened, according to police and district officials.
“I can confirm that there were no swatting calls to our district,” Cherry Creek spokesperson Lauren Snell said in an email. “There is no plan to change procedures at this time, but we will continue to remain vigilant and monitor any possible threats.”
Edwards said the incident speaks to the importance of the security plans the department has in place.
“Communication grew as each swatting call around the state came in and our officers were kept apprised of plans and necessary efforts,” she said in an email. “While these calls were empty threats, they are treated as real possibilities until our department is certain no one is at risk.”
The police department is currently investigating the call along with the law enforcement agencies in the other cities where threats were made, she said.
Lawmakers in Aurora and across Colorado expressed consternation about the hoax calls.
“Schools should be a safe haven for our kids, not a place of fear,” Congressman Jason Crow (D-Centennial) said Wednesday on Twitter.
Is it coincidental that all these SWATs came right before four major gun control bills were introduced by democrat state lawmakers? Maybe to stir the pot before a rational discussion?