TOLEDO, Ohio — Several Washington Local Schools buildings were on lockdown Wednesday morning after the school received what were believed to be multiple swatting threats, school officials and Toledo police said.
Two teenagers have been identified and arrested on state charges, according to the FBI. The teenagers, who Toledo police say are 13 and 14 years old, are both charged with five counts of swatting and two counts of inducing panic.
One of the suspects lives in Toledo and the other in Northwood, police said Thursday. Neither of the suspects were Washington Local Schools students.
According to an email sent to Washington Local families after 8 a.m. on Wednesday, Whitmer High School, Washington Jr. High and Jefferson Jr. High were on lockdown after receiving non-credible "swatting" threats placed before school began. Toledo police told WTOL 11 via phone call they received multiple calls regarding the incidents and dispatched police to the schools as a precaution.
In a video update from the district released Wednesday afternoon, a school official said Whitmer and Jefferson Jr. High received threatening phone calls while students were arriving. According to the spokesperson, the district was immediately suspicious that it may have been a swatting incident and contacted Toledo police.
WHAT IS SWATTING? READ MORE: 11 Investigates: Swatting calls targeted schools in northwest Ohio and around the country
Students who were in the car line in the process of being dropped off were sent home, while students already near or in the school were ushered into a safe place, the spokesperson said. Initial information indicated the potential threat was outside of the building, which prompted school officials to place all three buildings in lockdown.
In the email to families sent at approximately 8:15 a.m., Washington Local school officials said all students were safe in their advisory classrooms while Toledo police investigated. No students were to be released from school until TPD cleared the campus, the email said.
As of 8:45 a.m., Washington Local Schools said police were still combing the campus, which includes all three schools.
At 9:40 a.m., Washington Local Schools said Toledo police conducted a complete sweep of the buildings and said they did not find anything threatening the safety of students, staff and faculty.
Despite an earlier report on social media from Washington Local Schools in which they claimed authorities had identified and were questioning a suspect, Toledo police told WTOL 11 that no suspect had yet been identified.
Washington Local also said the FBI was involved in the investigation.
School officials reiterated there was no threat to school or student safety and that the school day was resuming normal operations. Information regarding exams would be given to high school students soon, they said.
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