Police in Toms River tweeted that they received a call about a possible shooting at High School North around 11 a.m. and the school was placed on lockdown. Officers confirmed they were investigating the incident as a possible case and said there was no active threat. During the same period, emergency mail showed more than half the schools in at least five counties received similar calls. All of the affected buildings are high schools and span the length of the state, from Hamilton High in Mercer County to East Brunswick High School in Middlesex, Barnegat High School in Ocean and Weequihaic in Newark. Sussex and Monmouth counties reported similar calls. Emergency mail showed all the calls came in over a period of about half an hour starting around 10:45am. Swatting involves a fake emergency call about a serial crime — an active shooter, in some cases — that prompts a large-scale emergency response, directing police and other resources en masse. Similar incidents have been reported across the country in recent days, involving schools from California to Florida to South Carolina and other states. Chopper 4 was over the stage of a high school in Newark, New Jersey, one of several affected by an apparent swatting attack across the state on Friday. The police chief in Jackson, New Jersey, where a high school was also locked down Friday, said his department was alerted to the possible swatting attack about a week ago. He said, “They all played in a professional matter.” Another law enforcement source said an email was sent to multiple law enforcement agencies advising of the same. Details of the message, which the source said came from the state Department of Education, were not immediately clear. News 4 is reaching out to the department for comment. Sometime ago, Toms River Police dispatch received a call about a possible shooting at High School North. Officers responded and the school was placed on lockdown. The call was deemed unfounded and is being investigated as an incident, there is no active threat. — TomsRiverPolice (@TomsRiverPolice) October 14, 2022 No further details were immediately available.
