‘Designed to create panic’: Nebraska schools warned of active shooter hoaxes

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) — Nebraska authorities are on high alert as a slew of swatting calls target universities across the nation.

Now that classes have begun at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, there is a growing safety concern.

“What we see out of swatting is chaos,” said Lt. Monty Lovelace, the director of the Nebraska Information Analysis Center. “They’re designed to divert attention; they’re designed to create panic.”

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A dozen universities have fallen victim to these swatting calls in roughly the last week.

In Wisconsin, Arkansas, Pennsylvania and even at Doane University in Crete, students found themselves in the middle of a scary situation: a report of an active shooter.

But each time, these reports have been completely made up.

The Nebraska Information Analysis Center sent out a message Tuesday to schools and law enforcement across the state.

It’s telling agencies to be on high alert for these hoaxes.

The calls have been incredibly convincing, according to the message, and supposed gunshots can even be heard in the background.

But Lovelace said there are ways to detect swatting calls.

For instance, it will often only be one person calling a local department directly.

“One indicator is if there’s an active shooter occurring in the day and age of cellphones, you’re going to get multiple calls coming in from frantic people to 911, not just one call to a local department,” Lovelace said.

Despite these calls being fake, the terror they cause is very real.

“Especially with freshman students, and their families sending us here and trusting the universities where they send us, it’s a very sad and scary thing,” said Emma Penner, a student at UNL.

The FBI is even warning students, telling them to be aware of what’s going on.

Penner said she uses the university’s alert system to stay up to date.

“It buzzes your phone, so you instantly look at it, which is good,” she said.

Lovelace said if you find yourself in the middle of a situation where a shooter has been reported, you should treat it as if it’s real.

“Err on the side of caution,” he said. “Take everything seriously. Protect yourselves; protect those around you. And then, hopefully all it is is a swatting call. But take every situation seriously and take no chances.”