Breaking: False report of an active shooter in Boulder High
Piper Vaughn and Suvu Singh
9:01 a.m.
CU Boulder sent an emergency alert at 9:01 a.m. notifying students of police investigating a report of a person with a gun near Boulder High School, at 1604 Arapahoe Avenue.
The area saw a large police presence, with officials asking the public to avoid the area.. Boulder Police said the report of an active shooter has not been confirmed at that time.
Boulder High was placed under lockdown after an unconfirmed report of an active shooter situation, according to Mitchell Byars via Twitter.
Police issued a shelter-in-place for the Gross Grove area.
9:49 a.m.
Police have not reported any injuries at Boulder High School, but are still searching the campus. Police have not been able to confirm if the report of the active shooter was due to a larger swatting-type prank that is currently being played across the state.
CU Boulder sent another alert at 9:49 a.m. alerting CU facilities between Broadway to Folsom and Pleasant to Canyon to shelter and place.
Evacuated students were relocated to Macky Auditorium at CU’s campus. Families were asked to send one adult who has permission to pick up the student.
10:41 a.m.
At 10:41 a.m., the shelter-in-place was lifted for CU Boulder campus-impacted facilities nearby. The shelter in place at that time remained for the Gross Grove area.
Police Chief Maris Herold said in a press briefing that the 911 call reporting the active shooter and bomb threats was made to sound real, including “very realistic gun sounds.”
“It is very scary, in the background, you can hear shots being fired,” said Herold. At this time there is no evidence pointing to any armed person being present at the campus.
However, Deputy Chief Stephen Redfearn said that K-9 and bomb units are still sweeping through Boulder High School to ensure that there are “absolutely no threats.”
These swatting-type pranks are spreading all across the local Colorado areas this morning, with several other schools dismissing the threats as a threat.
Several School districts across Colorado received threats Wednesday morning including Alamosa, Aspen, Boulder, Brighton, Cañon City, Durango, Englewood, Estes Park, Gilpin County, and Glenwood Springs.
According to a 9News article, the Colorado Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management is monitoring the incidents.