COLUMBUS, Ohio — A false report of a shooting at Franklin Heights High School led to a heavy law enforcement response Wednesday morning, according to the Franklin County Sheriff's Office.
The spokesperson with South-Western City Schools told 10TV that someone called in a threat to the Columbus Division of Police regarding Franklin Heights High School.
The caller told the dispatcher that there was an active shooter inside the school that had shot students, according to a police report provided to 10TV. Police reached out to the school district regarding the threat around 9 a.m.
Officers and deputies with the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office responded to the high school to investigate the threat. The building went into a brief "Stay Put" protocol, according to the district spokesperson.
"The school did not go into a lockdown because a lockdown means there's a definite threat to people inside the building. That didn't happen because it was not a real threat," said Gary Sigrist, the CEO and president of Safeguard Risk Solutions, a company that helps teach emergency preparedness.
After sweeping the building, authorities found no credible threat at the high school and staff and students were safe.
"The advantage of having an SRO in a high school is that they can shorten the duration of the threat and respond quickly and say yes 'this is real, no this is not,'" Sigrist said.
The district says families will see an increased presence of law enforcement at the school out of an abundance of caution.
Franklin Heights High School Principal Tim Donahue sent a letter to families within 30 minutes of the hoax call.
Schools across the state, including parts of Toledo, Lima and Cincinnati, also received false threats of an active shooter inside buildings.
Back in October, Licking Valley High School was one of several schools in Ohio and across the nation to receive "swatting" calls. The calls prompted heavy presence from law enforcement agencies from several jurisdictions.