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Rise in school violence amid drop in swatting incidents, report shows
A new report from a nonprofit by the Educator’s School Safety Network, which tracks violent threats and incidents in schools, reveals a sharp decrease in swatting incidents in schools over the past two years. However, the findings are concerning as violent incidents continue to rise. FOX 5's Josh Rosenthal has the latest details.
WASHINGTON - Two students and two teachers were killed in the latest school shooting – this time in Georgia.
"It’s the same reaction you have every time. It’s just really a gut punch, especially as an educator," said Dr. Amy Klinger, the director of programming for Educator’s School Safety Network, which tracks violent threats and incidents in schools.
The nonprofit’s latest report was published Thursday, and Klinger called its findings "alarming."
The report said that incidents of swatting decreased by more than half between the two most recent school years. That’s when someone calls 911 and fakes an emergency to get a law enforcement response, often from a swat team. But the news wasn’t all good.
"When you pull out swatting, and you look at just the violent incidents that are left," Klinger explained, "in reality, the rate of violent incidents continues to increase and to increase fairly dramatically."
Apalachee High School shooting suspect's father also arrested
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation has arrested 54-year-old Colin Gray, the father of the 14-year-old suspected Apalachee High School shooter, Colt Gray.
That includes D.C., Maryland, and Virginia.
For instance, swatting incidents have been reported at dozens of Montgomery County schools in recent years, including at Bethesda Chevy Chase High School in May.
"I hope they find who called in this threat and deal with it as it should be," parent Susan Rufe said at the time.
Maryland teen paid 12-year-old to terrorize schools with bomb threats: police
A 15-year-old student from Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School has been charged in connection with a series of bomb threats that led to a school lockdown and a large-scale police response in early May.
Also in May, there was a shooting that injured a Dunbar High School student who was inside a classroom.
"We have to do more to work with our young people in our schools, work with our families," Metropolitan Police Department Chief Pamela Smith said that day.
As for what Klinger recommends doing about the problem, she told FOX 5 that schools should take a more holistic approach.
"We advocate very strongly for an all-hazards approach that gives equal weight to active shooter but also all of these other kinds of events," said Klinger. "We also advocate for a balanced approach between response and prevention. For every dollar or for every minute you would spend on response, you need to spend the same amount on prevention activities."
If you want to read Klinger’s full report, you can click here.