School Shooting Caller Is Texas Teen: Fairfield Officials

FAIRFIELD, CT — Law enforcement in Texas have made contact with the person who called Fairfield police Wednesday about a potential school shooting, causing a heightened police presence Thursday at Fairfield schools, according to officials.

About 5:15 p.m. Wednesday, the Fairfield Police Department records office received a call from someone who said he knew a person who wanted to "shoot up" a school, asked about how to report the information and hung up, according to police. The caller did not name a specific school or town, Fairfield police said in a Facebook post.

Investigators linked the caller's number to a Texas IP address and determined the call appeared to be a spoof. Fairfield police contacted the Houston County Sheriff's Department in Texas, and members of that agency helped to find the caller, a 16-year-old boy, and his mother, according to police. The teen, who suffers from mental health issues, admitted to deputies he made the phone call but said he didn't know anyone who was going to shoot up a school, police said.

Fairfield parents received several emails about the incident from Superintendent Mike Cummings throughout the evening Wednesday, and although police did not believe the threat was credible, the department increased its presence Thursday at Fairfield schools.

"On behalf of the Fairfield Public Schools we want to thank the Houston Sheriff Department and especially the staff of the Fairfield Police Department for their quick work to resolve this issue," Cummings said in an email to parents Thursday morning.