Newberry High School shooting threat believed to be “swatting” call

Release from Alachua County Sheriff’s Office

NEWBERRY, Fla. – Today at 9:01 a.m., Alachua County Sheriff’s Office received a call from the Levy County Sheriff’s Office regarding a male caller who was threatening a mass shooting at Newberry High School.

Levy County Communications personnel reported that a male individual called their non-emergency administrative line. The caller provided a name and date of birth and claimed to be a student at Newberry High School (NHS), stating he was inside a bathroom and armed with a rifle. The caller then disconnected.

Thanks to our current partnership with the Alachua County School Board, there is a Deputy Sheriff assigned to every school within our jurisdiction, including Newberry High School. At the time the call was received, both a Sergeant and a Deputy were already on campus, which was instrumental in our immediate response.

Within seconds of the call being dispatched, the two Deputies at the school promptly notified NHS staff to initiate a lockdown and ensured that all students were secured and removed from the hallways. Additional Deputies arrived on scene within minutes; however, the Deputies already on site did not wait to begin their search. Our Deputies completed a systematic search of the campus to locate any potential threats to students and staff.

We are grateful to report that the school was thoroughly cleared and no threat was found. All students and staff are safe.

At this time, the incident is believed to be a “swatting” call—a false report intended to provoke an emergency law enforcement response, often made using a spoofed internet-based phone number.

We are incredibly thankful for our continued collaboration with the Alachua County School Board. It is because of this strong partnership that our Deputies were able to respond immediately and effectively to ensure the safety of everyone at Newberry High School.