CINCINNATI — A call made to the Hamilton County 911 Center on Tuesday claiming there was an active shooter on Elder High School's campus was a hoax, dispatchers said.
The caller claimed there was a person on the school's campus with a gun, but dispatchers said officials at the school reported nothing out of the ordinary was happening.
Cincinnati police responded to the school anyway as a precaution, dispatchers said. CPD reported that as of 12:09 p.m., officers found nothing of note at the school and gave the all-clear.
Kurt Ruffing, Elder High School's principal, also confirmed the call reporting an active shooter on the school's property was a hoax.
There is no indication of a real emergency at Elder High School; @CincyPD is on scene.
— Cincinnati 911 (@Cincy911) March 21, 2023
Neither police nor school officials have provided any information yet on who they believe could be responsible for making Tuesday's false 911 call, but similar calls went out to other school districts throughout the country.
Law enforcement was also dispatched to Kenton Ridge High School in Clark County and Coventry High School in Cleveland for reports of active shooters on their properties and 30 districts in Iowa also appear to have been targeted.
In September 2022, schools across Ohio were targeted by an active shooter hoax call that was duplicated across several districts.
In that incident, Princeton High School in Sharonville dismissed students for the day after police received a 911 call just before 10 a.m. claiming there was an active shooter inside the building with 10 people injured. Police responded to the report, where they deemed the call was a hoax.
In January, Governor Mike DeWine signed into law a bill that declared "swatting" a felony offense in Ohio.
Now, in Ohio, the minimum sentence for a person convicted of a fourth-degree felony is six months, but offenders can be sentenced to up to 18 months in prison. Those convicted can also be held liable for reimbursement of law enforcement resources used as a result of the false threat. If the "swatting" incident results in a person being injured, the offense becomes a second-degree felony, which carries an additional prison sentence of two to five years in prison and a maximum of $15,000 in fines.
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