In November, Palo Alto High School received two threats of violence in one week. Both threats, made by unknown individuals, were fake.
These incidents, known as swattings, occur when someone falsely reports a threat to gather law enforcement at a specific location.
In schools, these threats are often made by students looking to promote fear among the student body or avoid taking exams. For example, in 2023, a Paly student threatened to “shoot up” a classroom on the day of their final exam.
However, the recent swattings were not done by students at Paly.
“Before, it [swatting] was more localized,” Principal Brent Kline said. “But now it has become an international thing. … The one that we had about three months ago came from somewhere in the Midwest.”
According to the Educator’s School Safety Network, 63.8% of reported acts of violence in America during the 2022-2023 school year were false. However, it can be difficult to determine the validity behind these threats when they are initially made.
Additionally, a lack of information can make it difficult for administrators to decide how to respond.
“The threats aren’t really clear,” Kline said. “But there are two procedures that we do: Secure the perimeter, which means you go into classrooms, you shut the blinds and instruction keeps going on. And lockdown, which has changed in a variety of ways. It’s an always-changing protocol, but in the last two years it’s been more significant in terms of ‘run-hide-fight.’”
Assistant principal Jerry Berkson says safety protocols must be carried out correctly to avoid unnecessary confusion and panic.
“My first response [during the recent threats] was to call the district and let them know what was going on, … and ask for directions,” Berkson said. “Had we done an actual run-hide-fight, we would have had mayhem.”
Berkson says that Palo Alto Unified School District has been improving communication during these events to alleviate some uncertainty.
“When any of these incidents have happened, I’ve been outside, I know what’s going on, I’m confident things are good,” Berkson said. “But if you’re locked in a classroom, you don’t know that, so we try to get communication out to teachers as soon as possible.”
Despite these improvements in communication for teachers, some students and parents still feel uninformed during these events.
“It’s kind of unclear what the procedure is,” junior Yoray Chen said. “If we’re in the middle of a break, or in the bathroom, or if it’s right before school, what should we do? I think it would be helpful if they [administrators] clarified the situation with better communication.”
While swatting incidents may not involve real weapons, they contribute to a larger conversation about school safety and the accessibility of firearms.
“There are more licenses to sell guns than there are McDonald’s, Burger Kings and Starbucks combined,” Lesley Hu, an advocate against gun violence who founded the non-profit organization Pierce’s Pledge, said.
Hu says she believes the best thing that parents can do is keep guns out of households during stressful times.
“We know that a household is 400% safer when a gun is not present,” Hu said. “When it comes to school shootings, I personally believe that, when you see your child having some issues or a mental health crisis, … that’s the time to take the gun out of the home.”
Beyond policy discussions, repeated threats can take a toll on students’ mental health, making it difficult for them to engage in their education. Though recent threats at Paly turned out to be hoaxes, their impact was felt across the community.
“Palo Alto is a relatively safe neighborhood, so the idea that there could be guns and gun violence is really low,” Chen said. “But I think that students have become more alert, and they are more worried about what happens in schools because they think it shouldn’t be this way, that it should be safe.”
