‘Swatting’ prank call leads to large law enforcement presence near New Hanover High School

NEW HANOVER COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — Despite a large presence of emergency vehicles near New Hanover High School Thursday morning, there is no threat to students or the public, according to law enforcement.

A large presence of law enforcement (Photo: WWAY)

The New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office says they received a “false alarm” call just before 9:00 a.m., reporting an active shooting incident at or near the high school. There were no gunshots, and no one was injured.

But law enforcement has confirmed the call was a “swatting” incident, the practice of making a prank call to emergency services in an attempt to bring about the dispatch of a large number of armed police officers to a particular address. An additional Swatting call was reported in Cumberland County this morning as well, law enforcement says.

New Hanover High School was on lockdown as Law Enforcement investigated the area, but the lockdown has since been lifted.

We’ll have more details as they become available.