(WFRV) – A Wisconsin middle and high school separated by nearly 150 miles were both involved in apparent swatting incidents on Wednesday.
Both the Rice Lake Police Department and Wausau Police Department released information on swatting incidents that affected schools. Wausau and Rice Lake are over two hours away from each other.
In Rice Lake, around 9 a.m. a 911 call came in reporting an active shooter at the Rice Lake Middle School. Officers from different jurisdictions responded, and the school went into lockdown (which is per their protocol).
After searching the building, no threat or injured people were found. Authorities referred to the call as swatting.
This false report will reportedly be investigated, and the FBI is aware of the call. The Barron County Sheriff’s Office believes the call came from outside the area and even possibly outside the state.
In Wausau, police officers and EMS personnel responded to Wausau East High School around 9:30 a.m. for a report of multiple people that were shot in a bathroom. An athletic activity with students and staff was happening in the gymnasium.
There were no threats or injured people found. The school district is reportedly on spring break. Only athletes, coaches and custodians were in the building.
The person who called in the incident eventually hung up. Authorities believe the call was a swatting event. Police are still investigating the incident.
There were no other reported incidents of swatting in Wisconsin on March 22. No additional information was released.
Local 5 will update this story if more details are provided.