A perspective from local law enforcement as community recovers from shock after swatting incident Thursday at Lowville Academy

LOWVILLE- More light is being shed from a law enforcement perspective while the community recovers from the terrifying shock of what started out as a scary scenario Thursday afternoon at Lowville Academy.

As it has been reported, local authorities responded to the school sometime around 12:30 noontime for a threat revolving around a possible shooting.

Turns out, the whole ordeal was a swatting incident, where law enforcement rush to reports of a major incident, but it turns out being a false alarm.

According to Lowville Village Police, the initial threat was a call that came in to the district office and revolved around an apparent subject with a weapon inside one of the bathrooms.

Law enforcement responded immediately to ensure the safety of 1,300 some students, faculty and staff.

While a lockdown was in place, officers conducted a pair of thorough sweeps of the entire campus before students were evacuated as a precaution.

The students were taken down to the bus garage, which served as a central location for families to safely reunite with their children. Students were also given the option to take the bus home.

This was all going on while investigators continued their work at the school.

Though this turned out to be a completely false alarm, Police Chief Daryl Ortlieb says any such threat need to be taken seriously due to the danger posed to students, teachers and staff members.

Chief Ortlieb re-emphasizes the collaboration between other responding agencies and school district officials, including the Sheriff’s Office, New York State Police, New York State DEC and Lowville Fire Department.

This case remains under investigation. The FBI (Utica, NY office) is also involved.

Anyone who has information that may end up being relevant is asked to reach out and contact 315-376-6511.

Any new developments will be released at another time.

Lowville Academy image.