Update: Fowler police said they made an arrest related to swatting call at high school

Update: The Fowler Police Department announced just before 3 p.m. Thursday officers made an arrest related to a swatting call that initiated a significant law enforcement response earlier in the day.

Fowler High School received a phone call in which the caller said someone was planning to “shoot up the school,” which triggered a lockdown at Fowler Unified School District campuses, according to a news release signed by Police Chief Michael Reid.

He described swatting calls — when a person makes a hoax call that initiates a police response — as a risk to the community.

“Swatting is illegal and advanced technology allows law enforcement to fully investigate these crimes with the intent to prosecute the individuals that make false 9-1-1 calls,” he said in the news release.

Police did not immediately say who had been arrested nor did they include that person’s name or age.

10 a.m: Law enforcement officials determined the call about a shooting at Fowler High was a hoax, commonly called “swatting,” according to a Fresno County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson.

The campus was determined to be safe and no violence occurred, spokesperson Tony Botti said in an update about 10 a.m. Thursday

“This appears to be a fake call (aka Swatting),” the update sad. “Law enforcement takes Swatting seriously. It is illegal and if found, you will be arrested.”

Original story: Threats of a shooting at a Fresno County school triggered a large police presence on Thursday, but officials stressed no one fired a weapon or was injured.

The call to Fowler High School came in about 8:30 a.m. claiming shots had been fired at the campus, triggering lockdown and shelter-in-place protocols at the campus and other nearby schools, according to Fresno County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Tony Botti.

Deputies, Fowler police and officers from other area agencies rushed to the high school on Main Street to set up a perimeter, Botti said.

Staffers on site told dispatchers they did not hear any gunfire and officers did not locate any visible damage to buildings that could have been made by bullets, deputies said. No one was injured.

As of about 9:30 a.m., officers and deputies continued to search the school for potential threats, Botti said, and they would continue to do so until the site was considered clear.

“Law enforcement will remain in the area until it is confirmed no threats exist to the school and/or community,” the sheriff’s office said on Facebook. “Please avoid the area. There is no need for residents/parents to respond to the school.”