Authorities and school officials now say Monday afternoon's threatening phone call made to Chestatee High School was a "swatting" that came from a non-local source.
Hall County Sheriff's Office Public Information Officer B.J. Williams said investigators have not yet identified the suspect, but have traced the phone number.
"Investigators with our Criminal Investigations Bureau have been able to identify the phone number that was used in the threat, and they have determined that number was not a local phone number," Williams said.
Williams said the male caller contacted Chestatee High School just after 2:00 p.m. Monday, saying explosives had been placed around the school's campus. The caller also claimed that people were waiting outside the school to harm students and staff as they left the building.
"We had a very large law enforcement response from our agency. They thoroughly searched the campus property and determined there were no explosives anywhere in the area, and there was not a threat to any persons inside or outside the school building," Williams said. "This was a bogus call."
Williams said while the suspect has not been identified, it is unlikely that the caller was from the local area. She said the incident was likely a "swatting" case.
"Swatting is the practice of making a bogus phone call, a prank call, in an attempt to force the dispatching of a large number of emergency personnel...to a certain address," Williams said. "That's what we believe, at this point, happened at Chestatee (Monday.)"
School officials said students were held on interior lockdown from the time the call came in until around 4:20 p.m., when the sheriff's office determined there was no evidence of a credible threat. Buses were held until the all-clear was given, before ultimately allowing students and staff to leave.
Hall County Schools Superintendent Will Schofield said a $5,000 reward remains in place for anyone who provides information leading to an arrest and conviction of the person responsible for the threat. Those with such information are asked to contact the Hall County Sheriff's Office.
"What those students went through yesterday should never happen in a school career," Schofield said. "We appreciate everybody staying calm and working with us, but I just feel very bad for those students that had to experience that."
Schofield said while the school district dealt with a series of school threats in the aftermath of last September's deadly shooting at Apalachee High School in nearby Barrow County, this is the first instance he's seen of a large-scale swatting of a school from a non-local source.
"This is the first time in my 38 years (in education,) 26 as a superintendent, that I've seen anything like this," Schofield said. "It is a terrorism threat, and we will take it as such."
Schofield added that there is not believed to be a reason the caller chose Chestatee High School.
"It certainly appears random," Schofield said. "Apparently, this same individual has done some similar things in other places, but I'll defer to the sheriff's office."
Schofield said there was law enforcement presence at Chestatee High School and nearby Chestatee Academy and Sardis Elementary School to help students feel safe in returning to class.
