No active aggressors found after 'swatting' calls made to 2 JCPS schools
Louisville Metro Police found no active aggressors at two Jefferson County Public schools after the department received reports of an active shooter Wednesday morning.
Officials said they responded to calls of an active aggressor at both duPont Manual High School and Fredrick Law Olmsted Academy North, but no aggressors were found, according to a post from X, formerly known as Twitter.
Both scenes have been cleared as of 10:15 a.m.
LMPD is responding to a report of an active aggressor at Olmstead Academy North School. THERE IS NO ACTIVE AGGRESSOR. We will take every one of these calls seriously. Other cities to include Evansville, Lexington and Cincy are all having apparent SWATTING calls currently. #LMPD
— LMPD (@LMPD) November 8, 2023
Jefferson County Public Schools spokesperson Carolyn Callahan said people inside duPont Manual High School and Noe Middle School, which shares its campus with the high school, are on heighten security per district protocol.
🚨 JCPS UPDATE | JCPS has been the target of apparent “swatting” calls this morning, impacting @duPontManual, @Noe_JCPS, and @OlmstedNorth. All JCPS students and staff are safe. These schools have heightened security levels out of an abundance of caution. #WeAreJCPS
— JCPS (@JCPSKY) November 8, 2023
Liz Palmer, a Journalism and Communications teacher at Manual, said in a Facebook post that the school was placed on lockdown and secutiry had swept the building to ensure everyone's safety.
"I have not heard gunshots of any kind," Palmer said. "Keep in mind that the threat, if it is not a false alarm, may be external to our building."
LMPD received a report of an active aggressor at Manual high school this morning. AT THIS TIME, THERE IS NO ACTIVE AGGRESSOR.
LMPD is currently inside the school clearing the building and will provide further when available. #LMPD— LMPD (@LMPD) November 8, 2023
A “bogus call” for a SWAT team in Lexington on Wednesday forced Frederick Douglass High School to evacuate as well, according to district spokesperson Dia Davidson-Smith.
That call came in at about 9 a.m., she said, with the caller telling authorities they had barricaded themselves inside a classroom at the school, though the classroom number they gave did not match any at the campus, located about 80 miles east of Louisville.
“Out of an abundance of caution we mobilized,” she said, noting Lexington Police and Fayette County Sheriff’s Office personnel had responded. No shots were fired and no weapons were found after the building was evacuated and searched, and kids were let back in the school by 10 a.m.
A social media post from LMPD stated that school in Evansville, Indiana, and Cincinnati have also received "swatting" calls on Wednesday morning. Police officials in Evansville have already cleared the scene there.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
Reporters Lucas Aulbach, Olivia Evans, Stephanie Kuzydym and Josh Wood contributed.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: No active shooter found at Louisville's Manual High School, Olmsted North
