Fargo, North Dakota: Sheyenne High School Lockdown Lifted After Swatting Call Is Ruled a Hoax in West Fargo

Sheyenne High School in West Fargo was placed on lockdown on Wednesday morning, October 28, after the school received a swatting call, and police lifted the lockdown about 47 minutes later after a supervisor on scene ruled the threat a hoax.

The West Fargo Police Department said the call directed at the school, at 800 40th Avenue East, came in at about 11:10 a.m. A school resource officer assigned to Sheyenne High School and additional patrol officers responded to the area at once.

No threat found

After a thorough investigation, the supervisor on scene deemed the threat to be a hoax, and the department said there is no threat to Sheyenne High School at this time. School administrators had started the lockdown out of an abundance of caution while the investigation ran its course. The lockdown was lifted at about 11:57 a.m., and all school operations returned to normal, the department said.

KFGO reported the same police account, describing swatting as the practice of making a false report to emergency services in an attempt to trigger a large, armed police response to a specific address. Police told the station there was no danger to students or staff, and that investigators will continue to look actively into the source of the fake call.

Officers in the schools

The police department said it keeps a dedicated team of nine school resource officers and one sergeant in West Fargo Public Schools through its partnership with the district. The officers serve as law enforcement officers and also as informal counselors, mentors and teachers, and the department said they continue to work to keep school campuses a safe place for all learners.

The department said it will continue to investigate threats of this nature thoroughly. No arrests and no injuries were reported in either the police statement or the KFGO report, and classes and activities at the school resumed on their normal schedule after the lockdown ended.

For families in the Fargo metro, the morning was a short and frightening interruption to a normal school day. The building was locked down before midday, officers searched and checked the report, and students and staff were back to their regular routines within the hour. Police have not released any information about who placed the call, and the investigation into its source continues.