GRANT, Mich. — Grant Public Schools said they received a threat of a person going to the high school with a gun on Thursday. That threat was deemed unsubstantiated, and operations returned back to normal before dismissal.
The Grant Police Department said the report came in through a third-party crisis intervention line detailing an unknown male standing outside of Grant High School with an AR-15-style rifle preparing to enter the school.
That turned out to be a fake threat, and officers found no signs of the reported suspect.
Just after noon, the district said they locked down the high school and went into "hold mode" in the other buildings.
About 10 minutes later, Grant Public Schools said the schools were secured with Grant Police Department Officers there.
"There appears to be NO ACTIVE THREAT at this time," Grant Public Schools shared on social media.
Just before 12:45 p.m. Thursday, Grant Public Schools went into secure mode, and each building was checked.
The Grant Police Department said students and staff followed secure mode procedures. Police said secure mode is a term that means it's safer to remain inside the building with locked doors.
Police asked parents and guardians not to come to the school during the secure mode, but instead to wait for further information.
Around 1:50 p.m., Newaygo County Emergency Services said Grant Public Schools returned to normal operations, and students will be released as normal.
Authorities said the original call came into the crisis line from an IP address that matched at least 13 other calls across the US happening simultaneously.
In each of those incidents, the reported threat was the same except the name of the supposed suspect.
The IP address is believed to have originated outside of the US.
This incident is being classified as a swatting incident and authorities said they are working to get information to the Michigan Intelligence Operations Center (MIOC) and the FBI for further investigation.
"Swatting is a dangerous hoax designed to provoke an emergency response to a fabricated threat, typically involving serious crimes," the Grant Police Department said. "We want to thank all of our GPS students and parents for their patience and understanding throughout a stressful situation today!"
This is the latest threat to impact a West Michigan school this fall. Since the start of September, a slew of schools in West Michigan and across the state have investigated threats. Some schools closed for investigation.
If you have any information about any threats, you're asked to contact police, Silent Observer or OK2SAY.
