COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KOAA) — A police presence at a Colorado Springs school Tuesday morning was tied to a likely "swatting" call, according to Colorado Springs Police.
The police department confirmed with Scripps News Group that they had officers responding to Sand Creek High School as of 7:50 a.m. on Tuesday. The school is located on the east side of the city along N. Carefree Circle just east of Peterson Road.
Scripps News Group is reaching out to D49 to see if we can get more information and will update this article as we work to learn more.
WHAT IS SWATTING ACCORDING TO THE FBI:
Swatting is the malicious tactic of making hoax calls or reports to emergency services, typically feigning an immediate threat to life. Swatting is intended to draw a large response from SWAT teams or other law enforcement resources to an unsuspecting victim’s location, causing chaos and the potential for injury or violence.
Targets of swatting often include high-profile public figures, as well as schools, hospitals, places of worship, and centers of mass transportation, but anyone can be a victim. A swatting incident may be an isolated event targeting one victim or part of a larger coordinated effort to target multiple victims.
Swatting may be conducted to harass, intimidate, or retaliate against intended targets. It is a serious crime that can have deadly consequences due to confusion on the part of victims and responding officials, and that also diverts limited public safety resources from valid emergencies.
Threat actors often compile sensitive information from a wide range of publicly available sources, including online accounts, to develop invasive profiles of their targets. They leverage spoofing technology to anonymize their identities, using phone numbers, email addresses, and social media profiles to make it appear the false report is coming from the victim. Threat actors may also use compromised smart home devices to facilitate swatting attacks.
Right to Hunt and Fish? Amendment 83
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