CINCINNATI — Two Cincinnati Public Schools are dealing with "swatting" situations, Cincinnati Public Schools spokesperson Janine De Iorio said.
Gamble Montessori High School was placed under a "lock out" as Cincinnati police investigated a school threat Wednesday morning, Mark Sherwood with CPS said.
De Iorio said Shroder High School is also dealing with a swatting situation. Police cars were seen surrounding Shroder's front entrance and parking lot.
In a statement, CPS said the district has received "multiple social media and text threats (Wednesday) that appear to be swatting incidents."
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.
CPS also said they implemented immediate security protocols and reported every incident to CPD for investigation.
"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.
CPS did not specifically say if the threats made toward Gamble Montessori and Shroder were connected or not.
Gamble Montessori is located along Werk Road in Westwood. The school serves 654 students ranging from 7th through 12th grade.
Shroder, which is located along Duck Creek Road in Madisonville, serves 800 students.
In the past three months, there have been at least six threats made at various schools across the Tri-State, including an incident at Turpin High School were 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.
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