CLEVELAND, Ohio — The bomb threats at schools throughout Ohio were bogus, but that doesn’t mean they were harmless.
On Wednesday, schools from Cleveland to Columbus to Cincinnati and Toledo went into lockdown after they received threats. Often called “swatting,” these phony threats aim to stir chaos and inspire fear.
Police have not revealed any information on who the caller or callers may have been in this latest scheme. Nonetheless, officers tend to deploy extensive resources each time, hence the genesis of the term “swatting.” For callers, the goal is to prompt the deployment of SWAT units, Special Weapons and Tactics teams that would typically only be called in high-risk situations…