Westport Police Working to Identify Caller in Staples “Swatting” Incident

Press Release

On October 21, 2022, at approximately 9:10 a.m., Westport’s Emergency Communications Center received a call from a person who was reporting that there was an active shooter inside Staples High School.  The patrol and detective divisions as well as officers in administrative rolls immediately went to the school.  As officers were responding, contact was established with the School Resource Officer who stated that there was no indication of a problem at the location.  This led the department to believe that this may be what is referred to as a “swatting” call.  Despite the possibility of this being a hoax, the high school was placed on lock down and the police department proceeded as if there was an active threat.

Once on scene, teams of officers checked the entire school to confirm there was no shooter.  This exhaustive search included checking each room within the high school as well as all common areas.  Nothing of concern was discovered which confirmed our belief that the call reporting the active shooter was in fact a hoax.  It is our understanding that other schools throughout the state received the same call.

Out of an abundance of caution, officers will be stationed at all of Westport’s schools for the remainder of the day.

The outstanding communication between the police and school officials allowed this incident to run smoothly.  Additionally, the members of the police department were incredibly impressed with the composure exhibited by students and faculty alike in the face of a very freighting situation.

The police department’s detective bureau has assumed control of this investigation and are looking to identify the caller.

We would like to thank the Norwalk, Fairfield, Wilton, and Weston police departments for the assistance they provided during the incident.