OKEMOS, Michigan — Local, state and federal law enforcement teams were deployed Tuesday to at least seven high schools across Michigan after false threats known as "swatting" were made in what some officials called a "coordinated campaign," causing students to be evacuated or sent into lockdown mode.
High schools in Detroit, Jackson, Ann Arbor, Okemos and Portage were the victims of the prank calls, State Police said. The Muskegon school district in west Michigan confirmed on its Facebook page that the high school was targeted with a "false threat." Another threat was made to Nouvel Catholic Central High School in Saginaw Township, which was briefly placed on lockdown.
The large scale of false threats across the state prompted federal officials to respond, including the deployment of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The Federal Bureau of Investigation is leading the probe into the threats, said State Police spokeswoman Shanon Banner.
