MOUNT HEALTHY, Ohio — Mount Healthy Junior/Senior High School will use a calamity day Thursday after a hoax resulted in two schools being put on lockdown.
Acting Police Chief Greg Nolte said the police department received word of an active shooter threat at Mount Healthy High School, which is located on Hamilton Avenue, at around 11:35 a.m. While the school was on lockdown, Mount Healthy Preparatory and Fitness Academy, which is a little more than a mile away from the high school, also was placed on lockdown due to its proximity.
As police searched the building, the school notified parents that they could pick up their child, saying they were allowed to walk up to the school to get their kid. Remaining students left the school on buses around 1:15 p.m.
During the school's lockdown, Nolte said one student had a panic attack, but they were treated and didn't go to the hospital.
A 13-year-old student at Mount Healthy City Schools told WCPO the incident was scary, but that he and his classmates were prepared because the school underwent active shooter training just yesterday. While police cleared the school, the student said his class pushed their desks against the door and some students even held rulers to use as weapons if need be.
Nolte said the threat to the high school caused a massive police response from various departments, including Green Township, Colerain Township, Springfield Township, North College Hill, Ohio State Highway Patrol, the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office as well as the Mount Healthy Fire Department.
Police said a student inside the preparatory school mistakenly texted their parent that there was an active shooter when they were on lockdown, which then dispatched officers there as well. That report was also determined to be false. It is unclear if the preparatory academy resumed classes or sent students home as well.
WCPO obtained 911 calls from the false report, and the caller's voice is similar in tone to other active shooter hoaxes the Tri-State area has seen. The Tri-State saw more than a dozen false active shooter reports throughout 2022.
Active shooter hoax: 911 calls from 3 different Ohio schools sound similar
In September 2022, Princeton High School in Sharonville was among multiple Ohio schools targeted in a nationwide active shooter hoax. Many of those schools, including Princeton, received 911 calls sounding like the call made about Mount Healthy High School.
In January 2023, Gov. Mike DeWine signed into law a bill making "swatting," or reporting false or misleading information to law enforcement, a fourth degree felony. If someone is injured due to the "swatting" call, the offense becomes a second-degree felony.
Before it was deemed a felony, a Cincinnati Public Schools student was arrested and faced criminal charges following a "swatting" incident at Mt. Airy Elementary School in December 2022.
READ MORE:
'Swatting' is now a felony in Ohio after DeWine signed bill into law
No charges brought against juvenile for false active shooter report at Winton Woods City Schools
Princeton High School among multiple Ohio schools targeted by national active shooter hoax
A previous version of this article erroneously named Mount Healthy's acting police chief. The article has been updated with the correct name.
