SAN MARCOS, Texas — New audio revealed the tense moments behind a 911 call that led to the lockdown of San Marcos High School.
Tuesday’s anonymous threat was determined to be a hoax, but on Wednesday, police stressed these fake threats will lead to real consequences.
In the audio, a caller is heard saying they’re inside the main building of the high school and witnessed a man with a gun walking through the hallway.
The caller said someone was walking into the bathroom when suddenly “no, please, please, please” was heard followed by a gunshot. After an investigation, police said the phone number that called was involved in another Texas incident, along with a second in Michigan.
“Swatting is not a prank. Swatting is a criminal offense,” Police Chief Stan Standridge said. “It’s called false alarm of a report and it’s a felony offense if it involves a campus. Because we are working with our federal partners and we believed this crossed state lines, we believe this could also qualify for a federal offense.”
Standridge noted that two school resources officers were on campus at the time of the incident, which led them to split up and investigate the threat. Other authorities were at the school within three minutes.
According to Standridge, the call appeared to be premeditated since the caller knew the address of the school and had prerecorded sounds of gunfire. No arrests have been made at this time, but Standridge believes “we will make an arrest in this situation.”