CINCINNATI — Cincinnati Public Schools received false threats against Withrow, Dater and Western Hills high schools Wednesday morning, the district said in a press release.
According to CPS, the three schools had additional security throughout the day Wednesday "out of an abundance of caution."
The district did not provide any additional information about the nature of the threats made against Dater and Western Hills high schools, but Withrow received a 911 call shortly after 8 a.m. claiming there was an active shooter, CPD said.
Shortly after 8 a.m. a 911 caller claimed there was an active shooter at Withrow High School, CPD said. Shortly after officers responded to the scene, they determined there was no active shooter and that the 911 caller was reporting a fake threat.
The 911 caller — who called themselves Mike Green and said they were a teacher at the school — repeatedly claimed there was an active shooter in Withrow High School. The caller said the shooter was a former student wearing a black jacket and black pants armed with a pistol, and six students were shot and injured in Room 100.
Shortly after officers responded to the scene, they determined there was no active shooter and that the 911 caller was reporting a fake threat.
According to CPD, investigators are working to locate the source of that 911 call.
Schools in Findlay, Toledo and Lima also received threats Wednesday, according to a report from ABC-affiliate WTVG.
In the 911 call to Toledo's Start High School, the caller also identified themselves as a teacher named Mike Green. Toledo's caller also said six students were shot at the high school in Room 100.
The fake caller in Toledo also gave a similar description of the shooter compared to Withrow's.
The district did not provide any additional information about the nature of the threats made against Dater High and Western Hills High school.
"Any student who is creating and or sharing these threats in an effort to disrupt our learning day will face severe consequences," CPS said. "Any person making a real or false threat may face criminal charges and potential fines."
Amy Kingler, director of programs at Educator's School Safety Network, said the reason these false threats keep happening its because they work.
"You have to do something and you don't get to wait 20 minutes and investigate," Kingler said. "When you get a 911 call that there's a shooter, you must respond as though there is."
In 2019, Kingler said false active shooter calls were the most common response incidents. When her organization started tracking again this fall, they found a 600% increase in those threats.
"Every school should be assuming that they have the potential to have one of these incidents occur," Kingler said.
In only one week, the district has faced five false threat reports.
Last Wednesday, Gamble Montessori High School was placed under a "lockout" as Cincinnati police investigated a school threat. That same day, Shroder High School was dealing with a "swatting situation."
On Friday, two CPS students were arrested after making the false threats, police said.
In the past three months, there have been more than 12 threats made at various schools across the Tri-State, including an incident at Turpin High School where a student was charged after allegedly threatening to shoot students and blow up a bus.
Princeton High School was among several Ohio schools targeted by a national active shooter hoax in September. Police received a 911 call claiming there was an active shooter inside the school with 10 people injured. When police responded, they deemed the call a hoax.
Schools in Dayton, Springfield, Newark, Toledo and the Cleveland area all received 911 calls about possible active shooters as well, which were deemed hoaxes. WCPO affiliates in Colorado, Missouri and more also reported similar swatting situations.
Since the start of the 2022 school year, there have been more than a dozen threats made against districts, schools, teachers or students across the Tri-State.
READ MORE:
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'It’s affecting the entire community': 5 Tri-State school districts face threats in one week
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