Fake Report Of Man With A Gun Prompts Lockdown At RivCo Campus

RIVERSIDE, CA — A phone call Friday indicating a man was roaming a Riverside high school campus while armed prompted a major public safety response, though the call ultimately appeared to have been a hoax.

"It looks like it may have been a swatting call, but we're investigating," Riverside Police Department spokesman Officer Ryan Railsback told City News Service. "Our officers are at the campus, conducing a room-by- room search. It's secure."

The "active shooter" call was received at 3 p.m. Friday at Arlington High School, 2951 Jackson St., according to police. At 3:30 p.m., an "all- clear" broadcast was issued to all fire department and ambulance crews staging adjacent to the campus' athletic field, releasing them from further alert status.

There were no reports of an arrest.

Railsback said the campus was absent students Friday, though at the time of the call, faculty and staff were gathered for an "administrative day."

"They were placed on lockdown in classrooms," he said.

No one was injured.

Swatting calls are akin to malicious pranks and can be phoned in from anywhere in the country, sometimes the world, with the perpetrators making bogus 911 reports, usually of an imminent act of violence.

The callers typically use "spoof" caller IDs to conceal their identities. However, they can often be traced via law enforcement warrants. Criminal charges may be filed at the state or federal level.

An investigation into the incident Friday was underway. No suspects were immediately identified.

—City News Service