By Jo McMullen / KVSC reporter

St. Cloud’s Apollo High School was targeted as part of a hoax happening across the state today falsely claiming there’s was an active shooter at the school.

District 742 Superintendent Laurie Putnam shared an email message that stated, “as reported by the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, many false reports of threats in schools across Minnesota occurred today. The St. Cloud Police Department took a similar false report for Apollo High School.”

Putnam adds the school Resource Officer on site was able to immediately establish there was no threat, and no disruptions to the school day occurred. She says they are grateful for the joint training work done with SCPD which ensured a swift response and safety for all. 

Earlier in the day, the Minnesota BCA stated they were aware of multiple ‘swatting’ incidents involving active shooter events or mass casualties at schools across the state. Swatting involves making a prank call to law enforcement in order to try to bring them to a specific address.

Law enforcement was responding and none of the incidents turned out to be real. The Minnesota Fusion Center, a private-public and law enforcement sector partnership formed in 2005 is tracking the reports and keeping local law enforcement apprised of the situation.

The BCA reminds students and communities to notify local law enforcement and school resource officers about suspected threats to schools, and to contact the BCA through their See It Say It Send It app.