School Death Threat Calls Came From South Korea

A 19-year-old member of the South Korean military is responsible for making a prank call that put Hackettstown High School on lockdown for four hours in March 2012, the Associated Press reported.

Seoul Metropolitan police said in a statement that a person with the surname Lee made the calls using a smartphone application and threatened to kill students inside the building with an AK-47, the report said.

All Hackettstown schools were put on lockdown that day, as local and state police canvassed the area looking for caller, who initially said he was hiding in the woods near the high school.

Centenary College was also placed on lockdown as a precaution, and schools in neighboring Washington Township were put on modified lockdown as well.

Students at Hackettstown High School were kept inside their classrooms for the four-hour period, as police searched in and around the school. Students were then released after an announcement was made that the threat was unfounded.

During the day, Centenary College issued a statement on its website saying police were looking for a white male in blue jeans wearing a back sweatshirt, carrying an assault rifle.

South Korean police began investigating after United States officials were able to trace the three calls made to the Warren County dispatch center back to the eastern country, the Associated Press reported.   

The Warren County Prosecutor's Office will be holding a press conference on the matter at 11 a.m. Tuesday at the Hackettstown Police Department.