Police call active shooter hoax at Santa Cruz High School a “swatting” incident

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (KION) On Thursday night, after a stressful and adrenaline-packed day, administrators from Santa Cruz High School and Santa Cruz Police Chief Bernie Escalante held a webinar surrounding the false report of an active shooter at the high school in the morning.

Chief Bernie Escalante said the false report of a shooter at Santa Cruz High School was part of a growing hoax trend to disrupt schools and stoke fear.

"The caller used a voice-over IP, it's known as swatting, it's nearly impossible to track when they are using this method," said Escalante. During the webinar, Escalante also described how the caller falsely reported injured people in the school and gave a clothing description of a suspect.

An FBI agent was brought in among the different agencies of law enforcement that reported. The agent is familiar with these types of swatting incidents and is working to help find the culprit.

Earlier this year, a Texas teen was arrested after a similar hoax was reported at a school in Fort Worth.