BOCA RATON, Fla. — Boca Raton's mayor is reassuring the community after four swatting calls in one week targeted schools and a shopping mall, sparking panic and heavy police presence across the city.
Mayor Andy Thomson addressed the incidents, saying investigators are taking the calls seriously.
"We're going to be investigating this. Thankfully none of them turned out have been an issue at all," Thomson said.
WATCH: MAYOR RESPONDS TO MULTIPLE SWATTING CALLS IN THE CITY LAST WEEK
The first call came last Tuesday around 2:30 p.m. at Boca Raton Community Middle School, when an unknown caller threatened he was armed near campus. Hours later, another unknown caller made a bomb threat at Town Center of Boca Raton.
David Summers, a resident who has lived in Boca Raton for 26 years, and lives near one of the targeted areas.
"I've been in Boca Raton for 26 years.. There's been a number of incidents at Town Center," Summers said. "That's close to home.”
The third call came last Thursday, when a caller claimed to be armed near Spanish River Community High School.
“It does affect the police officer day-to-day duties, of course that is their job to investigate this,” said Thomson. “I’m sure having to investigate a school is not the ideal thing for them to be doing — but they do it and they do it well.”
The fourth and most recent call targeted Blue Lake Elementary — the school attended by Mayor Thomson's own children.
"One of the calls got into my child's school — Blue Lake Elementary was the one that was affected by the calls," Thomson said.
The call came at a particularly disruptive time for students.
"The sad part was that they were in the middle of their FAST testing…and that's a big deal," Mayor Thomson said.
When WPTV Reporter Zitlali Solache asked whether he had seen anything like this during his time serving the city, Thomson said the pattern was unlike anything he had encountered before.
"Swatting like this — no. Not repeatedly, not in schools, over the course of a weeks time — at the end of the school year no," Mayor Thomson said.
Residents near the affected schools say the calls, even if false, are causing real harm.
"Its really impacting people's lives and it's scaring a lot of people," Summers said.
Summers said the calls go beyond a simple prank.
"A prank is going up and knocking on somebody's door and running away. That's prank. But calling in situation. In a school or a public place like that — they're idiots," Summers said.
Law enforcement investigated all four incidents and found no credible threat in any case.
“We have some of the best officers on the planet. Our officers are trained for this kind of situation — so you’re not going to be in better hands than you will be with Boca Raton Police Department,” said Mayor Thomson.
Authorities are now working with the FBI and Palm Beach County School District officers to identify those responsible.
"We'll work with any agency that may have information on what’s going to bring this kind of thing to an end," Mayor Thomson said.
The Palm Beach County School District shared the message sent out to Blue Lake Elementary families on Tuesday:
Dear Blue Lake Elementary School families and staff,
I’m writing to provide you with a final update regarding today’s law enforcement investigation. This afternoon, School Police, Boca Raton Police Department, and Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office responded to our campus to investigate an anonymous threat to our school. They determined there was no actual threat, and all students and staff are safe.
After receiving the anonymous threat, we immediately implemented our safety protocols to secure our campus while law enforcement investigated. Students and staff did a great job following our established safety procedures. I’m proud of our students for listening to their teachers. I’m also proud of our staff who took all the appropriate steps to secure our campus.
As your principal, the safety of our campus is my highest priority, and we will always prioritize your child’s safety. Given the disruption to our campus operations today, I encourage you to talk to your children after school today about their experience. Our school counselors are also available to speak to students who may need additional support. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you feel your child would benefit from speaking with a counselor.
We appreciate your patience and support.
Sincerely,
Stacey Wenisch
Principal
Blue Lake Elementary School
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
