A spike in school threats in Western Pennsylvania mirrors national trends

Laura Esposito, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Oct 6, 2024

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A rash of threats made to school districts across Western Pennsylvania mirrors a national trend taking a toll on staff, students and parents.

For years, the number of mainly non-credible threats made against schools have ticked up, including "swatting," a form of harassment intended to deceive an emergency service provider into sending police and emergency responders to a location.

Don Beeler, CEO of TDR Technology Solutions, a company that tracks school threats nationwide, said there were more than 10,000 threat reports — some duplicated — in September alone, compared to last year's average of 785 per month.

"It is taking a long time to sift through (all the reports)," he said.

Just five years ago, the average number of school threats per month was 29, Beeler said.

Pennsylvania has not been spared. Pennsylvania State Police Lt. Adam Reed said 87 school threats were reported to the agency in 2023, not including cases handled by a city or local police department that didn't involve the agency.

This year, he said troopers have seen many threats that originate from social media and "spoofing" devices — a type of cyberattack designed to trick the user or system into thinking the hacker is a legitimate source with a valid request.

While state police don't have this year's numbers publicly available, there's likely to be a substantial increase. Across Western Pennsylvania alone, threats have plagued schools since they reopened for the fall semester.

Social media posts warning of shootings at several school districts were traced to a Shaler Area School District elementary student who now faces criminal charges. Pine-Richland School District received calls regarding bomb and school shooting threats at its high school and middle school, but the FBI later determined the threats were non-credible and traced the calls to Australia.

Last month, Allegheny County Police said Dante Meadows, 25, called Woodland Hills High School four times over three days to make shooting threats, which he denies. He faces charges of terroristic threats, harassment, and threats to use weapons of mass destruction.

Last week, state troopers responded to the Purchase Line School District in Indiana County after a handwritten note indicating a bomb threat was found in a girls' bathroom at the elementary school.

The FBI Pittsburgh office announced it was investigating multiple threats made toward Pittsburgh-area school districts including Butler, McKeesport, North Hills, Slippery Rock and West Mifflin, all of which canceled classes or increased security measures last month as a result.

In March 2023 Pittsburgh's Oakland Catholic and Central Catholic high schools were shaken by active shooter threats.

There's no clear reason for the uptick in threats. Most experts point to a combination of factors, including social media influence, the lasting effect of the pandemic's stress and isolation, and the pervasiveness of high-profile violence — from school shootings to political assassination attempts — that compel minors and adults alike to make unfounded threats.

Beeler pointed to a recent mass shooting at a Georgia high school, where a 14-year-old student killed four people. The next week, 500 school threats were reported, he said.

Research shows the effect of these incidents can increase students' risks of developing post-traumatic stress disorders or depression, or lead to anxiety that makes it difficult to focus in the classroom.

A recent report by TDR also found it takes a financial toll. Researchers examined 16,000 schools and about 16 million students impacted by threats in the last few years and found that it cost taxpayers more than $1 billion to respond and find ways to prevent school threats.

Lt. Reed said law enforcement has a duty to take each threat seriously and to "devote the needed resources to ensure the safety of our students."

"And (we) will hold those making the threats accountable," he said.

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