The Select Board heard from public safety and school leaders Tuesday night about their collective response to a swatting incident that occurred at Hopkinton High School on Oct. 1 and the concerns the false report arose in residents about student safety.

Swatting is a criminal act where false reports of an emergency are made to provoke a large-scale law enforcement action. According to a recent CNN.com article, the practice of swatting has escalated in recent years, with the intended targets including schools, public and religious institutions, politicians and celebrities.

Chair Brian Herr said he felt it was important to discuss this issue in a public meeting, as it has been “of great concern to the community.” He also noted that that some specifics could not be relayed because sharing them would compromise safety tactics.

Hopkinton Police Chief Joseph Bennett led the discussion by describing the initial response to the prank call reporting an active shooter.

“There are particular indicators with swatting calls that we knew,” said Bennett, noting that one was that no other calls were received about gunshots being fired. “This fit four or five areas that gave us an indication that it was a swatting incident right from the start.”

The first officer to respond already was on school grounds and reached the door in 44 seconds, Bennett added. The decision was made with school staff that students shelter in place. Common areas were checked first, followed by the bathrooms.

“There was no screaming,” said Bennett about the reasoning behind sheltering in place. “There were no gunshots. No chaos to be found.”

The incident was neutralized in 26 minutes, he continued, after which officers provided harm reduction counseling in the hallways to students. Bishop added that the high school has a crisis response team that assisted students and teachers who were “rattled” by the incident.

Said Bennett: “This is an ongoing issue that we’re facing across the country.”

Areas for improvement noted

During the public comment period that preceded the discussion, parent Gayle Ober told the Select Board that her daughter’s class was outside when the swatting incident was reported “and were not notified as to what was going on.” She said the teacher used a key fob to reenter the building with her class.

“They walked into a SWAT team running around the building,” Ober stressed, “seeing men with guns and dark black boots, having no idea what was happening.”

She added that she did not believe there was any attempt by the HPD to see if students were outside during the incident.

HHS Principal Evan Bishop explained that he learned that the teacher’s walkie-talkie did not have the capacity to transmit across the campus. As a result, he has purchased new walkie-talkies with stronger capabilities and magnets that can lock classroom doors.

He added that instruction can continue during a shelter in place because no one is allowed in the hallways or to enter or exit the building. This is different from a lockdown, when students would huddle in the room’s corners to prevent being seen by a shooter.

School Superintendent Carol Cavanaugh explained that sheltering in place is a common strategy also used during medical emergencies.

“I know that people in their minds immediately think about lockdowns,” she said. “But lockdown is just one of the steps that belongs to ALICE.”

ALICE is an acronym that stands for alert, lockdown, inform, counter and evacuate, the protocol that the schools and police use in potential shooter situations. Cavanaugh said the steps do not have to occur in that order.

One thing Cavanaugh said she learned through this experience was that the middle school should be notified because of its close proximity to the high school. During a debriefing, a communication plan was formulated between the two schools.

Bishop’s key takeaway was that students in the larger areas like the library should be moved away from the large glass windows during a shelter in place, as some students were triggered by the police presence.

“It’s a very unfortunate situation,” he said. “But it was good for us in a lot of ways in [regard to] how we communicate.”

Bishop praised the coordination between school staff and the police and fire departments. He also talked about the use of special apps as communication tools during crises.

Bennett said HPD staff was debriefed twice after the swatting to discuss lessons learned, once immediately following it and again a week later.

Hopkinton Fire Chief Gary Daugherty said several firefighters already have received tactical combat and casualty training. He hopes to expand that training to the entire department next year and offer training to other town departments.

Member Shahidul Mannan asked if an outside consultant ever had been considered to assess Hopkinton’s emergency preparedness to “strengthen and give you the tools to be better.”

Bennett said he would be “very open-minded” about working with a consultant, and Daugherty agreed. Cavanaugh noted that staff has been sent to consulting centers, but none has worked in the schools.

The police chief added that he hopes to implement incident command centers in various locations throughout the town. The key takeaway he had from the situation was the importance of all stakeholders learning about the others’ roles in a crisis.

Select Board members agreed that the conversation about this topic should continue at future meetings.

“I don’t think we want to ignore the situation, ignore the potential problem, ignore the society that we live in these days,” Herr concluded.