SAN JOSE — An anonymous call threatening a shooting at a Willow Glen school prompted a campus lockdown but was quickly determined to have been a hoax and possibly done expressly to summon a police response, authorities say.
The foreboding call was reported to police just after 12:40 p.m. and targeted River Glen School on Broadway Avenue, according to San Jose police. The K-8 school subsequently sheltered in place.
Officers responded to the site and “have not located any suspicious activity or persons to corroborate the anonymous threat,” police said in a statement to this news organization.
“Out of an abundance of caution, officers are systematically searching the school and will keep a contingency of officers on scene until school is let out,” police said.
The threat touched off a short panic after the San Jose Unified School District sent a district-wide text alert, along with automated phone calls to parents telling them of the shelter-in-place action. That was followed soon after by an admission that the alerts were not supposed to go out to the entire school district, which is composed of 41 schools and is the largest school district in both San Jose and Santa Clara County.
Police suspect that the threat may have been an attempt at “swatting,” which is when someone reports a phony emergency or crime to summon police to a certain location, for reasons including to harass or spur violence against a target.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.