Dear Berlin Families:
Today, several 911 centers received swatting phone calls indicating an active shooter at local school districts. Ultimately, these threats proved to be false after investigations by law enforcement.
In response, Berlin CSD, in coordination with our SRO, initiated our emergency procedures including a lockout while law enforcement investigated. Several other area schools also implemented lockouts due to these outside threats. Please note that there was no specific threat to Berlin CSD itself.
Please note that a lockdown is called when there is something dangerous inside a building, while a lockout (or secure) occurs when there is something dangerous outside a building. This is an important distinction that changes the response of a building and law enforcement.
During a lockout the activities inside the building continue as normal, but we do not allow anyone to leave or enter the buildings. This is what happened today until we lifted the lockout at 10:33AM.
Swatting incidents are threats made with the purpose of triggering a police (or SWAT team) response to a particular address and creating mass fear and panic. The perpetrators often use computer-generated calls and caller-ID spoofing to disguise their numbers, which may be coming from outside of the country.
Several states have experienced similar swatting calls. Over the past two days, it has been reported that these calls have impacted schools in the Adirondacks, Buffalo, Hudson Valley, Central New York and Westchester in New York and Berkshire County in Massachusetts.
We know many of our families, students, and staff are understandably concerned about school safety, especially considering Monday’s shooting in Nashville. Please know that the health, safety and well-being of our students and staff is our top priority. We take all reports of threats seriously. We have developed plans for each of our buildings, including secured entryways, emergency drills, and relationships with law enforcement.
I want to thank everyone for your patience and cooperation today.
Joseph Dhara
Superintendent of Schools
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