ESTES PARK, Colo. (KDVR) — A police officer investigating a swatting incident at a Colorado school “accidentally” opened fire.
The Estes Park Police Department said it’s reviewing the response and mistaken gunfire at the local high school, which was one of numerous Colorado schools targeted by a swatting hoax on Wednesday.
“During its investigation at the Estes Park schools, an Estes Park Police officer accidentally discharged one round into the floor at the elementary school,” the Estes Park Police Department said of the incident. “No one was injured.”
The police department said no students or school personnel were actually at the school campus on Wednesday. Schools were closed because of the snowstorm that hit the state.
Other officers were present, however, including from the National Park Service and Larimer County Sheriff’s Office.
Swatting calls target Colorado schools
Police said the swatting call came in around 9:23 a.m., reporting an active shooter at Estes Park High School. The town’s community center was locked down during the investigation, but officers found no substantial evidence.
At least 17 Colorado schools were targeted in a string of calls, many of them coming from a single number through an internet-based phone service, according to state officials.
Law enforcement sources told the Problem Solvers that the calls may have originated overseas, but the investigation was still underway.
Most of the calls were in the morning, starting just before 8:30 a.m. and continuing every few minutes until 9:45 a.m. Another string of calls went out after 1:30 p.m.
In each instance, schools were forced into heightened security protocols, including several hours of lockdown while police cleared large campuses.