Parsons Police Respond to SWATTING Call at Parsons High School

Date Posted: 05/06/2026

PRESS RELEASE

Date: May 6, 2026

Parsons Police Respond to SWATTING Call at Parsons High School

At about 1:30pm on Wednesday, May 6th the Parsons Police Department received a phoned in threat from a male who said that he planned to shoot up the Parsons high school. The male had a noticeable adult foreign accent.

Multiple Parsons Peace Officers and both School Resource Officers (SRO's) responded to the high school interior and perimeter. High school and District staff were notified. The school decided to lock down the high school as a precaution.

Our agency was notified by the State Fusion Center that multiple similar threats were being received statewide involving schools and 911 centers in multiple locations in Kansas. This appears to have been a statewide SWATTING incident. The calls were not traceable and may have originated from outside the United States.

Apparently, Oswego high school, Ft Scott and other schools may have received similar phoned in threats.

After extensive building and area checks, Parsons high school students were released to move between classes but to stay inside buildings. Police remained on site and continued to monitor all city schools.

The police department has been in contact with the State Fusion Center to continue to monitor the larger threat picture and trends. At present there's no evidence of a real threat to the community.

Nature of the Incident

Preliminary indicators suggest this was a deliberate false report intended to trigger an emergency response. These types of incidents, commonly referred to as swatting, involve the misuse of emergency communications systems to create unnecessary panic and divert public safety resources.

The Parsons Police Department is working in coordination with regional and state partners to document the incident and assist in any ongoing investigative efforts to identify the source of the call.

Law Enforcement and School Response

Parsons Police Chief Robert Spinks emphasized that the response reflects the department's commitment to treating every threat seriously:

"Every report of a potential threat to our schools is treated as real until proven otherwise. Our priority is always the safety of students and staff, and that requires a rapid and coordinated response even when the information later proves to be false."

School officials also acted immediately in accordance with established safety protocols, ensuring that students were secured and accounted for throughout the incident.

Community Context

Law enforcement agencies across Kansas and the region have experienced an increase in false threat calls to schools in recent years. While most of these incidents are ultimately determined to be hoaxes, they require full response until verified otherwise.

These incidents place significant strain on emergency communications systems and school operations and can cause unnecessary disruption and anxiety within communities.

Ongoing Investigation

The Parsons Police Department is actively reviewing all available information related to the call, including call origin data and telecommunications routing, and will continue working with appropriate partners to investigate the source. Due to the nature of ongoing investigative protocols, no further details will be released at this time.

Public Reminder

The Parsons Police Department reminds the public that:

All school threat reports are taken seriously and fully investigated.
False reports are criminal in nature and may be subject to prosecution.
Community members should rely on official communications from law enforcement and school district channels for accurate information during incidents.

Swatting calls can trigger a wide range of state criminal charges, and the exact charging decisions depend on intent, harm caused, and local statutes. In Kansas (and most states), prosecutors typically build charges around false reporting, interference with public safety operations, and criminal endangerment-type statutes, with enhancements if schools or emergency response systems are targeted. Below is a structured breakdown of the most common state-level charges that could be brought in Kansas or similarly structured jurisdictions.

1. Interference with Law Enforcement / Emergency Communications

This is the most direct and commonly used charge. In Kansas, prosecutors often rely on statutes such as:

Interference with law enforcement officer duties (K.S.A. 21-5904)
Interference with emergency communication systems (dispatch centers, 911)

Why it applies:

Swatting intentionally forces dispatch, police, fire, and EMS to respond under false pretenses, disrupting their lawful duties. Penalty range (general): Can range from misdemeanor to felony depending on severity and consequences.

2. False Reporting of a Crime / False Information to Authorities

Kansas law prohibits knowingly providing false information to law enforcement. Typical statute:

False reporting (K.S.A. 21-5904 or related provisions).

3. Terroristic Threat / Criminal Threat

This is one of the most serious charges that can apply in swatting cases. Kansas statute: Criminal threat / terroristic threat (K.S.A. 21-5415).

Often a felony, especially when:

schools are targeted
large-scale evacuations occur
significant fear or disruption is created

4. Interference with Educational Institutions

When schools are targeted (as in Parsons High School today), additional charges may apply:

Disruption of school operations
Interference with school staff performing duties
Causing emergency lockdowns or evacuations

These charges elevate seriousness due to:

presence of minors
duty of care owed by schools
public safety obligations

In Kansas, a swatting call-especially one targeting a school-can escalate from a nuisance-level misdemeanor to serious felony exposure, particularly under criminal threat and interference with emergency response statutes.

Swatting can also trigger serious federal charging because it typically involves interstate communications networks, false emergency reports, and intentional disruption of protected institutions like schools.

Federal prosecutors tend to get involved when there is interstate transmission, mass disruption, use of VOIP spoofing, or coordinated activity across jurisdictions. Swatting investigations conducted by the Parsons Police Department are shared with our partners at the Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for their own evaluation.

Below is a structured breakdown of the most commonly used federal statutes.

· Interstate Threats and False Information (18 U.S.C. § 1038)

· Interstate Communications - Threats (18 U.S.C. § 875 / § 844(e)) - Interstate threats and/or Bomb Threats.

· Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (18 U.S.C. § 1030)

· Conspiracy Charges (18 U.S.C. § 371)

· Wire Fraud (18 U.S.C. § 1343)

· Civil Rights / Hate Crime Enhancements (18 U.S.C. § 249 or § 245)

· Interstate Stalking / Harassment (18 U.S.C. § 2261A)

At the federal level, swatting is treated not as a prank or nuisance, but as:

A serious public safety interference crime involving interstate communications systems and potential mass casualty response risk

Penalties can range from multi-year felony exposure to significant federal prison sentences, especially when schools or coordinated multi-jurisdictional responses are involved.

The two most important federal reporting channels for swatting tips are:

www.IC3.gov (cybercrime + swatting reporting hub)

www.tips.fbi.gov (direct FBI investigative tips)