Local Student Connected To False Threat At Franklin School: Police

FRANKLIN, WI — After a false threat led to a lockdown at Franklin's Forest Park Middle School on Oct. 24, police said a local student has been connected and that the call came from overseas.

Police found that the call came from the United Kingdom, according to a joint statement posted Tuesday by Franklin Public Schools and local police. School officials completed their investigation and followed board policy to align consequences, the release said.

The call resulted in a lockdown and evacuation of the school that day, the school said at the time. Police had to sweep the building and evacuate classrooms one at a time though no active threat was found, the district initially announced.

"These types of fake threats are not only hazardous to the physical safety of our community because officers are responding in force to a false threat, but they also negatively affect the mental health of everyone involved," read the joint statement from police and the district.

According to an October report by FOX6 News, someone had called school staff claiming to have guns inside and police received a similar call, but the caller eventually told police it was a hoax.

Amid the false threat a nearby elementary school was placed on hold and some students were not released at the usual time, the district said.