Idaho high school is victim of alleged 'swatting' hoax, deputies say

IDAHO FALLS — Bonneville High School was the victim of a "swatting" hoax on Wednesday, according to the Bonneville County Sheriff's Office.

Swatting is a tactic of making hoax calls or reports to emergency services, typically feigning an immediate threat to life. It is intended to draw a large response from law enforcement to cause chaos and the potential for injury or violence, according to the FBI.

A news release from the Bonneville County Sheriff's Office said deputies are investigating after a report of a threat near the high school at around 11 a.m.

Multiple parents reached out to East Idaho News and said Bonneville School District 93 sent out an alert on Wednesday morning stating:

"From a report of a possible weapon on campus, the school is currently in hall check while law enforcement investigates. Please stay away from the school until the situation is resolved. We will share updates as soon as possible."

The school was placed into a "hall check" status, meaning that staff and students stay inside the buildings and classrooms, but school operations continue.

"A hall-check status is one of four procedures schools utilize for potential emergencies that allows for teaching and operations to continue while students and staff stay in buildings and classrooms," says the release. "Other procedural school activations include evacuation, reverse evacuation, and lockdown."

The release says deputies began checking the area as a precaution and found no active violence or issue.

The hall check was lifted after approximately 45 minutes.

According to deputies, information at this point indicates that the threat was part of a swatting call that originated outside the area and had no identified connection to Bonneville High School or the local area.

"Deputies have since learned this threat is similar to swatting calls to schools in other parts of the region," says the release. "The investigation is continuing, and no further information is available."

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