Two school shooting threats were reported in Missouri Thursday—one in Kansas City and one in Plattsburg.
Both turned out to be just a hoax but as swatting calls continue to increase across the country, so does the emotional and financial impact.
“As a parent, you can never be too cautious,” said Matthew Raevalo, a Park Hill parent. “I panicked, started letting other parents know.”
A report by TDR Technology Solutions found that 16 million students have been impacted by school threats, costing taxpayers over $1 billion in the last two years. Just 5 years ago, they averaged 29 threats a month. Last year, that number jumped to 785 threats a month.
These types of threats usually come from one of three sources: a student who attends the school, a person associated with a national group that attacks schools nationwide, or foreign actors. The latter was the case for the shooting reported here in Kansas City.
“That’s really scary,” said John Graff, a resident. “Crazy it came from overseas. I wonder what their agenda was.”