This morning the Delwood administration became aware of unsubstantiated threats that were circulating about Clinton High School. Due to our proximity to Clinton we immediately locked down the perimeter of our schools until we were able to confirm that there was no threat to our buildings. All activities inside the building resumed as normal.
We connected with Clinton County law enforcement who confirmed that they were looking into a reported threat. Fortunately, they were able to quickly determine that the reported threat was a hoax that was being made against school districts across the state of Iowa. In less than ten minutes were were able resume all normal operations.
This evening the director of the Iowa Department of Education released this additional information below.
"As you may be aware, this morning around 30 anonymous swatting calls were received by local law enforcement agencies referencing active shooter situations in schools. According to Department of Public Safety officials, the first swatting call originated in Clinton County at approximately 8:00 a.m., and the last call was received at 10:30 a.m. in Creston.
A “swatting call” refers to a false claim intended to trigger an immediate and widespread law enforcement deployment or emergency service response to a specific location. Hoax reports such as the ones experienced today commonly consist of claims of serious violent attacks, such as a bomb threat, active shooter and/or a hostage situation.
There is typically a level of coordination with swatting calls as the intention is to cause the greatest amount of chaos. As of this email, officials at the Iowa Department of Public Safety (IDPS) have confirmed that no incidents of violence occurred today as a result of the swatting calls directed at Iowa schools. IDPS also issued a press release this afternoon updating the public with the latest information regarding today’s threats. You can access the press release here."
We want to thank law enforcement, as well as Maquoketa and Easton Valley school leaders for helping us to gather accurate information and coordinate our response to the fake threats that were being reported.