CINCINNATI — A student will face criminal charges after police arrested them following a "swatting" incident Monday morning that put Mt. Airy Elementary School on a brief lockout, according to Cincinnati Public Schools.
The lockout happened prior to the start of classes early Monday morning, a spokesperson for the district said.
"Cincinnati Public Schools received a false threat of violence against Mr. Airy School today which was deemed to be a swatting incident," read a statement from CPS. "CPS takes all threats seriously, implements immediate security protocols and reports every incident to the Cincinnati Police Department for investigation and continued support. As a result of the investigation, a student was taken into custody and arrested and now faces criminal charges. In addition, this student will be issued discipline per the CPS Student Code of Conduct consisting of suspension and expulsion."
According to the district, additional security protocols were put in place and classes were not interrupted.
The district did not disclose whether the student facing charges attended Mt. Airy Elementary or any other school in the CPS district.
Cincinnati police have not responded to WCPO's request for comment on this incident.
This adds to the growing list of swatting a school threat issues CPS has faced throughout the school year.
Last week, Riverview East Academy was place under a lockdown for reports of a gun inside the school. According to CPD this was the second threat at the school in the week.
Last month, two CPS schools were dealing with swatting situations.
Swatting incidents involve fake 911 calls to deploy emergency responders to a scenario that isn't real. Some Ohio lawmakers are currently working to make swatting a felony charge.
"Any student who is creating and or sharing these threats in an effort to disrupt our learning day will face severe consequences per the Student Code of Conduct," CPS said.
The district also said those students may face criminal charges or potential fines.
CPS is requesting that anyone that learns of these threats should report them immediately to police and school leadership.
"We are requesting students, staff and families not distribute and post threats on social media or share via text as this is causing panic and high concern for our school community," CPS said.
READ MORE:
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