Recent Swatting Threats at Local Schools Concerns Sheriff

ZANESVILLE, OH – With the multiple swatting threats made at some local schools, Muskingum County Sheriff Matt Lutz is letting the public know what to look out for.

Swatting is when someone calls in a fake threat at a place like a school in order to get a response from law enforcement. Sheriff Lutz said if you receive one of these threats to immediately contact your local authorities.

“We want people to stay calm and be able to report the facts and circumstances to us as soon as they get it,” Lutz said. “The number one thing is to report it. If it’s a taped call, the sheriff’s office needs a copy of it, because there could be minor things in the details of that call that will lead us to believe if the threat is real or not.”

Lutz said that if someone were to be caught making a threat, it would result in serious charges.

“If you generate a response from first responders, it is going to be a felony,” Lutz said. “Our Prosecutor’s Office has proven with previous cases that they are going to go at you with everything they can.”

Sheriff Lutz is also asking the public to be careful of what they see and share online.

“When someone sees something online, reposts it, and then it gets shared over 1,000 times, it may or may not be true,” Lutz said. “I’d like the public to try to refrain from posting information that they don’t know whether it’s true or not so as to not cause panic.”

If you want to stay up to date on what’s happening in the County, you can head to the Muskingum County Sheriff’s Facebook page.