CHARLOTTE, N.C. — No threats were found after multiple false reports of shooters at North Carolina schools on Monday, officials said.
Law enforcement searched Kings Mountain High School, Hickory High School, and East Lincoln High School for similar, incorrect reports of an armed person on the school campus. In both investigations, no threat was found.
"Officers have made a sweep of the school to clear it, where they found nobody," a statement from the city of Kings Mountain said. "There will be a secondary sweep to follow protocol."
Staff and students at all three schools are on spring break and classes are not in session.
Authorities are investigating to determine the potential cause of the false alarms. At least in the case of the Kings Mountain false alarm, authorities acknowledged they had received multiple calls describing the threat.
Fake school threats were reported across the state Monday on April Fools' Day. Threats were also reported but found to be unfounded at Apex and Garner high schools near Raleigh, according to WRAL-TV. Students and staff, who were not on spring break, were on lockdown inside the school. Some parents also gathered outside Apex High School waiting to reunite with their kids.
Statewide, no threats were found at any of the schools.
Mac Hardy is with the National Association of School Resource Officers. He says hoax calls, also known as swatting, have been happening around the country for years.
"Sometimes when one school gets it, several schools will get it on that same day," Hardy said. "The dangers are not only to the students and the staff inside the school, mentally ... but it's also to everyone else in your community.”
Investigators say swatting callers are often hoping for attention and find enjoyment in the ability to get law enforcement to act. This ties up resources that could be needed elsewhere.
Finding out who's responsible can be a challenge.
"We’ve heard calls where it's a robocall or AI," Hardy said. "And they do believe that some of these come from overseas."
Even if intended as jokes, those who knowingly report false school threats could be committing a federal crime, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Contact Kayland Hagwood at khagwood@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.