What is Swatting?
Making false 911 calls to cause panic and trigger a large police response at a venue dates back to the 1970s. In most swatting scenarios, someone makes an elaborate report--shooting in progress with multiple people shot, bombs inside a venue, hostage situation--to dispatch the highest priority police response.
In 2015, swatting during live streamed video game competitions got mainstream attention. The calls are usually placed through voice-over-internet phone services and with a VPN that renders them nearly impossible to trace.
A further complication for schools is that anonymous reporting apps have been mandated in many states which gives students an easy way to make a false report without getting caught.
There is an established pattern and each instance that generates +100 officers responding to these hoaxes is perpetuating the cycle.
We don’t have the power to stop someone in a foreign country from making 911 calls over the internet. We do have the power to decide how we respond to them.