Eight Florida targeted by ‘swatters’ who told cops of active shooters in body armor

Eight Florida schools have been plunged into lockdown after swatters told cops active shooters in body armor were on campuses.

The institutions, spread across the south of the Sunshine States, were quickly shut as police swooped on the scene.

Armed officers patrolled the corridors at each location before declaring them safe and revealed they suspected swatters.

Meanwhile terrified parents were seen descending on school gates desperate to get to their children.

They said they were now investigating to find the hoax caller who is suspected to have been in a foreign country.

At around 9am eight schools across Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach were put in lockdown causing parents to rush to their children’s schools.

By 10am police had cleared most of the schools and confirmed that the calls were fake. 

‘Swatting’ involves making false calls to 911 reporting incidents like school shootings to provoke large law enforcement responses.

Ronald W. Reagan/Doral Senior High School, Miami Central Senior High School, Dillard High School, Pompano Beach High School, West Broward High School, Northwestern High School, Hialeah Senior High School and Boca Raton High School are eight schools police confirmed were targeted,

Slightly later in the day at around noon a false incident was reportedly made further north in Orlando at Dr. Phillips high school.

Luis Sierra, a spokesman for the Miami-Dade police department, said the calls came from a foreign country, the Sun Sentinel reported.

Ronald W. Reagan/Doral Senior High School (left) and  Miami Central Senior High School (right)

Just after 9am on Tuesday authorities received a call about an adult male shooter in body armor on the second floor of Miami Central High School.

Dillard High School (left) and  West Broward High School (right)

Police and fire fighters were sent to schools in Miami-Dade and Broward to investigate similar false reports of disturbances. 

‘It appears to be a hoax. We’re getting the same threat at different schools,’ said Miami-Dade schools police Chief Edwin Lopez.

At Dillard High School in Fort Lauderdale, armed police searched the entire school as relatives waited for information about their children inside. 

‘Multiple officers are on scene at West Broward High School investigating a possible swatting call.

‘There is no evidence of any safety concerns at the school at this time. The school is going into lockdown as a precautionary measure,’ said Pembroke Pines Police Department in a statement on Twitter.

Boca Raton High School (left) and Pompano Beach High School (right)

‘We are aware of additional swatting calls which have affected other schools throughout the area, and may be connected to the incident at West Broward High. As previously stated, the West Broward campus is secure.

‘We are conducting an investigation into the source of the call,’ they added in a second Tweet. 

Miami Fire Rescue attended Miami Central Senior High School after a call reported a possible incident causing the school to be placed on lockdown. 

Around 10am, lockdowns affecting the schools were lifted.