The principal of Hopkinton High School announced Tuesday morning that the school was ordered to shelter in place after police received a call about an “alleged active shooter” in the building.

“This morning, at approximately 11:13 a.m., the Hopkinton Police Department received a call that referred to an alleged active shooter at Hopkinton High School,” stated Evan Bishop, the HHS principal, in an email to parents. “The police reported immediately to the high school, assessed the situation to be a hoax, swept the building, and determined the building to be clear.”

Stressed Bishop: “Everyone is safe. There was never any shooter or threat to the building.”

Once the school received the call from HPD, “the school was immediately placed into shelter-in-place,” Bishop stated. “During this time, no one was allowed to enter or exit the building, and students and staff were contained in their classrooms.”

HPD Sgt. Scott van Raalten added Wednesday in a release that “dispatch received a report a male subject had killed two people at Hopkinton High School and was currently in a second-floor restroom.”

He added that the HPD Communications Department recognized indicators of a hoax. Police arrived quickly, swept the building and deemed that it was secure within about 10 minutes.

Bishop also recognized the anxiety that has been triggered by this scare to the entire community, particularly to students, parents and staff.

“Please know that at every moment this morning, our top priority was the safety and well-being of our students and staff,” he stated. “We take any and all reports of potential threats seriously, and we make every effort to maintain an environment where students and staff feel safe.”

Counseling services will be available for anyone who needs support in processing the event.

“We continue to encourage our students and school community to report anything that could constitute a threat to school safety,” stated Bishop. He noted that the school system works in close partnership with the HPD and the Hopkinton Fire Department and thanked them both for their efforts Tuesday morning.

Bishop noted that swatting incidents such as this unfortunately are “not uncommon” now.

“[S]chools in Massachusetts have received internet-based phone calls conveying threats, all of which have been unsubstantiated,” he stated.

Van Raalten referred to this type of incident as “swatting.”

“‘Swatting’ is a criminal act where false reports of an emergency are made to provoke a large-scale law enforcement action,” he stated. “Swatting is a serious offense and the Hopkinton Police Department is actively investigating the source of the call. The perpetrator(s) could face significant legal consequences, including felony charges for making a false report. This was reported to the Massachusetts State Police Fusion Center, as swatting has been an ongoing problem since the start of school across Massachusetts and the country.”