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‘Swatting’ hoax puts Ridgewood’s George Washington Middle School on lockdown

GW

MAY 28, 2015, 11:52 AM    LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, MAY 28, 2015, 12:55 PM
BY CHRIS HARRIS
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD

RIDGEWOOD — George Washington Middle School was temporarily on lockdown Thursday morning after a prank phone threat village police are investigating as a “swatting” incident.

The call to the school on Ridgewood’s Washington Place was received by school official just before 10 a.m.

The caller, according to a number of sources, claimed that a shooter was on the school’s roof. School officials immediately ordered a lockdown of each classroom.

Police also notified officials at nearby West Side Presbyterian Church, which operates a nursery school that went into lockdown.

Responding officers from Ridgewood, Midland Park, Glen Rock and Wyckoff searched the middle school building, including the roof, and determined the call to be a hoax by 10:30 a.m.

It was the fifth such incident in North Jersey since March of what has become known as swatting, in which false reports are made to elicit the response of police swat units.

Ridgewood Police Chief John Ward confirmed Thursday’s call was a “swatting,” but would not discuss the specific nature of the threat made against the school.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/swatting-hoax-puts-ridgewood-s-george-washington-middle-school-on-lockdown-1.1344405

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