Gov. Shapiro Calls For Investigation Of School Threats

PENNSYLVANIA — Gov. Josh Shapiro is calling for an investigation into the "swatting" threats that forced schools into lockdown on Monday morning.

The governor condemned the series of "cruel" and "fake" school threats, labeling them as illegal "swatting" incidents meant to induce panic.

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He directed the Pennsylvania State Police to work with local law enforcement and school officials to find those responsible and hold them accountable.

School districts throughout the Philadelphia region and the state placed schools on lockdown Monday morning after receiving phone calls with security threats.

Several school districts reported that they received "swatting" calls, bogus emergency calls that are meant to draw a major law-enforcement response to a targeted location.

Police said the same call impacted several school districts in the area, including Bucks, Montgomery, Chester, Berks, and Delaware counties, as well as Philadelphia.

Shapiro said that "swatting" (calling in fake emergency threats) is illegal and that the incidents are serious crimes that waste critical emergency resources.

The calls came just as most school districts were starting their days, forcing school officials to scramble to change bus routes and keep all students in classrooms with no one entering or existing schools.

Among the school districts that received calls were the Hatboro-Horsham School District in Montgomery County, the Pennsbury School District, Council Rock High School North, Central Bucks School District in Bucks County, and Conestoga High School in Chester County.

In April 2026, a juvenile was charged in federal court for a series of similar swatting calls that targeted state universities in 2025.