Advisory
On September 21, 2022, at 10:37 a.m., the Carlton County Sheriff's Dispatch Center received a phone call from an unknown, unidentified person stating there was an armed suspect with an AK-47 shooting students at the Cloquet High School in room 108 of the English department.
The dispatcher reported the caller to have a very thick accent.
Immediately, Cloquet Police Department squads and neighboring law enforcement agencies responded to the school, and CHS and CMS were placed on lockdown.
Dispatch noted there were no sounds of commotion or chaos in the background while speaking with the caller.
Upon arrival at the school, officers found nothing out of the ordinary. Officers verified there was no room 108, and the English department and all the other classrooms were clear. No one reported hearing anything out of the ordinary inside the school.
After communication with the Cloquet Schools Superintendent, the school's messaging system sent a unified message to the parents of students. CPD and CHS staff later sent a follow-up message with an update on the situation and that the call was believed to be a hoax or swatting attempt.
(Swatting is a term used to describe hoax calls made to emergency services, typically reporting an immediate threat to human life. Swatting may be motivated by revenge, used as a form of fear or harassment, or a prank, but it is a serious crime with severe consequences. The goal is to draw a response from law enforcement and the SWAT team to a specific location. These attacks pull resources away from valid emergencies, disrupting the ability of emergency services to respond.)
After clearing the Cloquet High School and Cloquet Middle School, officers remained on the scene and stayed at or around the schools for the remainder of the day.
Before the incident, the Cloquet Police Department was aware of similar incidents around the country recently and received notification from the Minnesota Fusion Center.
After the incident, we notified the Fusion Center of our incident and were in contact with the FBI.
Technology has increasingly made these types of calls hard to prevent and enforce. The FBI informed us that the call originated in a similar bomb threat incident in Africa. Currently, we do not know the origins of this call.
When an incident of this nature occurs in our city, it consumes much, if not all, of our resources. We are thankful for the assistance and relationships with the Carlton County Sheriff's Office, Fond du Lac Police Department, our state agencies, our fire and ambulance services, and our regional public safety partners.
We will do our best to continue to share and communicate as much information as quickly as possible, understanding that our priority and foremost goal is to ensure the safety of our citizens and community. As time permits, we will update and add additional details as soon as possible. We appreciate your understanding and patience in these scenarios.
Sincerely,
Derek W. Randall
Chief of Police
*UPDATE* Active Shooter Call Determined to Be a Swatting/Hoax
Active Shooter Call Determined to Be a Swatting/Hoax
On September 21, 2022, at 10:37 a.m., the Carlton County Sheriff's Dispatch Center received a phone call from an unknown, unidentified person stating there was an armed suspect with an AK-47 shooting students at the Cloquet High School in room 108 of the English department.
The dispatcher reported the caller to have a very thick accent.
Immediately, Cloquet Police Department squads and neighboring law enforcement agencies responded to the school, and CHS and CMS were placed on lockdown.
Dispatch noted there were no sounds of commotion or chaos in the background while speaking with the caller.
Upon arrival at the school, officers found nothing out of the ordinary. Officers verified there was no room 108, and the English department and all the other classrooms were clear. No one reported hearing anything out of the ordinary inside the school.
After communication with the Cloquet Schools Superintendent, the school's messaging system sent a unified message to the parents of students. CPD and CHS staff later sent a follow-up message with an update on the situation and that the call was believed to be a hoax or swatting attempt.
(Swatting is a term used to describe hoax calls made to emergency services, typically reporting an immediate threat to human life. Swatting may be motivated by revenge, used as a form of fear or harassment, or a prank, but it is a serious crime with severe consequences. The goal is to draw a response from law enforcement and the SWAT team to a specific location. These attacks pull resources away from valid emergencies, disrupting the ability of emergency services to respond.)
After clearing the Cloquet High School and Cloquet Middle School, officers remained on the scene and stayed at or around the schools for the remainder of the day.
Before the incident, the Cloquet Police Department was aware of similar incidents around the country recently and received notification from the Minnesota Fusion Center.
After the incident, we notified the Fusion Center of our incident and were in contact with the FBI.
Technology has increasingly made these types of calls hard to prevent and enforce. The FBI informed us that the call originated in a similar bomb threat incident in Africa. Currently, we do not know the origins of this call.
When an incident of this nature occurs in our city, it consumes much, if not all, of our resources. We are thankful for the assistance and relationships with the Carlton County Sheriff's Office, Fond du Lac Police Department, our state agencies, our fire and ambulance services, and our regional public safety partners.
We will do our best to continue to share and communicate as much information as quickly as possible, understanding that our priority and foremost goal is to ensure the safety of our citizens and community. As time permits, we will update and add additional details as soon as possible. We appreciate your understanding and patience in these scenarios.
Sincerely,
Derek W. Randall
Chief of Police
Address/Location
Cloquet Police Department
101 14th St
Cloquet, MN 55720
Contact
Emergency: 9-1-1
Non-emergencies: 218-879-1247
Derek Randall
Chief of Police
[email protected]
218-879-1247
TEXT-A-TIP - Text TIP CLOQUETPD followed by your message, to 888777
1000 18th St
Cloquet, MN 55720