Crime & Safety

New Swatting In Howell A Day After Schools Sheltered In Place, Police Say

Authorities are investigating a second incident that prompted another shelter-in-place.

HOWELL, NJ — A day after swatting calls prompted shelter-in-place measures at Howell Township's schools, police say another swatting call targeted a facility in the township.

Thursday's incident involved a private day care facility, Howell police said. They did not name the facility but said the phone call received there was similar to the calls received at Howell schools on Wednesday.

"Additional calls were received by other facilities in neighboring jurisdictions," Howell police said.

Find out what's happening in Howellfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

The Goddard School of Brick, which sits adjacent to two elementary schools in Brick Township, was a swatting target on Wednesday.

In Howell on Wednesday,multiple public schools received suspicious calls, police said. They did not specify which schools received the calls but increased police presence at all of them as a precaution.

Find out what's happening in Howellfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

"At this time there are no known threats to our public school community," Howell police said. "Investigation into these calls is ongoing by Howell Police as well as other affected jurisdictions and agencies."

The department increased police presence at schools and day cares throughout Howell as a precaution, though the threats were believed to be non-credible.

"Howell Police and Howell Board of Education are in constant communication and remain dedicated to the safety of our students and staff," the police department said.

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