Laconia, Franklin students safe after false reports of school shootings

Laconia High School went into soft lockdown and Franklin High School was evacuated Thursday morning after being targeted in a statewide hoax involving reports and threats of an active shooter. 

“There was a report of an active shooter in Concord, New Hampshire, and we were listening to that to see how that would transpire. Then we got an active shooter call at Franklin High School,” said Lt. Dan Poirier of the Franklin Police Department. “We came, most of the students were on their way out, so [staff] evacuated the school and brought them to a safe location. We methodically cleared the school. There was never a report of a gunshot other than the caller who stated it.”

At about 10:20 a.m. Franklin Superintendent Dan LeGallo was sitting in his office at the high school when he received a call from the police asking him about reports of an active shooter.

“I said 'no,' walked out of my office and started to walk through the high school on the phone with the police, saying everything looked normal,” LeGallo said. “When I got to the main office, police had arrived and they called for the building to be evacuated, so we evacuated the building and they then called for the students to be released from school.” 

LeGallo commended the efforts of students and staff for following the school's evacuation plan. Within a half hour, the building had been cleared and students were sent home for the rest of the day. Officers were seen exiting the main office, some armed with rifles, after completing their search.

Poirier confirmed that so far, the Franklin threat appeared to be a hoax.

The Laconia Police Department also received a call at around 10:25 a.m.

“There was a male person reporting six students had been shot, and that there was an active shooter in the school on the second floor in room 100” at Laconia High School, said Laconia Police Chief Matt Canfield. “We got word that other schools had received calls, it’s called swatting. It’s a hoax is what it is.”

“Swatting” is the practice of calling in fake shooting or hostage situations to muster an armed police response. 

Despite the likely bogus nature of the call, Canfield said the department treated it as credible, and responded by sending officers to schools across the city. “[LHS was] placed on a soft lockdown. As soon as we heard about the calls, we deployed officers to the three elementary schools, middle and high schools as a proactive means. We walked through the school, met with staff, and we made the decision to lift the soft lockdown.” 

Unlike Franklin, Laconia students returned to classes after the lockdown was lifted. 

Laconia Superintendent Steve Tucker sent a letter to parents and staff Thursday morning:

"The police have determined that at this time, there is no credible threat to our schools in Laconia. We are working in conjunction with the Laconia Police Department, who are present in our schools as a precautionary measure to support our students and staff."

Department of Safety Community Outreach Coordinator Vanessa Palange said the department was working with the Department of Homeland Security to investigate the incident. As many as nine schools may have received threats, but a complete list was not immediately available for confirmation by the Department of Safety.

The origin of the fake calls is currently unknown, although Canfield said the call regarding Laconia High School appeared to have been from out of state.

The threats come during an unsettling year for gun violence in the United States, when 622 mass shootings have occurred according to the Gun Violence Archive. Schools have not fared well, either.

According to the K-12 School Shooting Database, there have been 292 shooting incidents on school campuses so far in 2022, setting a grim new record.

In Franklin, the district was looking forward.

“We'll be back to normal operations tomorrow,” LeGallo said.