Boy Shoots Self In Mankato School Parking Lot Day Before Mass Swatting

MANKATO, MN — The day before “mass swatting” attempts were reported at schools across Minnesota, emergency personnel were called to Mankato West High School in response to a boy who shot himself in the parking lot, according to the Mankato Free Press.

The boy was taken to an area hospital after attempting suicide Tuesday in the school’s overflow parking lot, the Free Press reported, resulting in a soft lockdown at West.

The following day, schools across the state were targeted by swatters — people who make prank calls to authorities in an attempt to draw a large police response to a specific address, according to state officials, who said none of Wednesday’s swatting reports turned out to be real.

West was among the schools affected Wednesday, when an active shooter was falsely reported about 10:30 a.m. at the school, according to police, who said a search revealed the call to be a hoax.