ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Several Tampa Bay-area schools responded to what are believed to be fake threats similar to what South Florida schools experienced on Tuesday.
Students were placed on lockdown as a precaution.
Parents whose students attend St. Petersburg Catholic High School were told to go to the Tyrone Gardens Shopping Center at 1050 85th Street North to pick up their children should they choose to, St. Petersburg Police Department spokesperson Yolanda Fernandez said.
According to the department, a caller claimed there was an active shooter — that was determined to be a hoax, the agency added.
Law enforcement agencies were dispatched just after noon to what's believed to be an unfounded report of a shooter at Pinellas Park High School, the city's police department said in a statement.
The agency does not believe there is a threat to students or the community, saying, "It is believed this incident is a falsely reported threat."
Authorities are investigating a false threat at Riverview High School in Sarasota, as well. The Sarasota County Sheriff's Office called it a "swatting" call.
"Swatting" is considered an extreme tactic meant to deceive emergency service dispatchers into sending a large number of law enforcement officers to a particular location.
Multiple schools in Miami-Dade and Broward counties were threatened in what authorities called a "swatting" incident. After their buildings were placed on lockdown, authorities later confirmed students and staff were safe.
"It appears to be a hoax. We're getting the same threat at different schools," Miami-Dade schools police Chief Edwin Lopez told CBS Miami.
WTVJ-TV reported, citing police officials, that authorities' 911 call center traced a call they received from outside the U.S.