Tyngsborough Police responded to threats against Tyngsborough Elementary School on Wednesday, Mar. 20. Upon arrival, officers quickly determined that the threat was not credible.
In recent months, hoax swatting calls have become a rising concern for school districts and emergency services across the country. They undermine the sense of security within schools and instill undue fear in communities. Tyngsborough experienced such a resource-intensive and unsettling incident,” said Deputy Chief Shaun Woods.
Deputy Chief Woods stressed that the effective handling of this situation can be attributed to the strong and continuous collaboration and partnership between the Tyngsborough School District and the Tyngsborough Police Department. This partnership, which includes the assignment of a dedicated School Resource Officer and continuous ALICE training for staff and students, ensured the incident was managed professionally with minimal disruption to the educational process.
“I want to express my gratitude to all those involved today for their patience, understanding, and meticulous attention to detail,” said Deputy Chief Woods.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Tyngsborough School District and Police Department issued the following joint statement:
“(…) At approximately 9:15 a.m., a non-specific threat was made against the Tyngsborough Elementary School via a phone call to the main office. The school was immediately placed into lockdown by the school administration and the students and staff followed our ALICE/emergency response procedures. The Tyngsborough Police were immediately notified and sent multiple officers to the scene. After a thorough search of the school and grounds by the Tyngsborough Police Department, nothing was found, and the phone call was determined to NOT BE A CREDIBLE THREAT. As an additional precautionary step, the Tyngsborough Police Department requested assistance from the Massachusetts State Police K9 unit to
sweep the entire grounds and building, confirming no credible threat. The Tyngsborough Department will maintain a presence at TES for the remainder of the school day. Today’s incident meets all the criteria of the unfortunate hoax ‘swatting’ calls that have plagued the area in recent months.
“TES students were in hard lockdown for approximately 30 minutes from 9:10-9:40 a.m., and then were in a soft lockdown (free movement in the school with no outside activity) from 9:40-11:30 a.m., before resuming with a regular schedule at 11:30 a.m.. (…) Today’s incident was unfortunate, but that is why we train and conduct drills. We appreciate the ongoing support of our families. (…)”