High school in Pomona hit with 'swatting' call that led to hours-long lockdown

A Pomona high school was placed on lockdown for several hours as officers investigated a threat to the school that was later determined to be unfounded, police said.

The Pomona Police Department received a bomb threat to Park West High School on Wednesday morning. Police did not believe the threat to the school was credible, but the school was locked down for the investigation.

Pomona Unified School District Director of Governmental Relations Ronald Gonzales-Lawrence said the school worked with police to deem the threat not credible.

"We take every threat seriously. Student and staff safety are our number one priority, and we will continue to work closely with our law enforcement partners to ensure everyone is safe," Gonzales-Lawrence said in a statement.

Gonzales-Lawrence called the incident a swatting call. Swatting is when a fake shooting or bomb scare is called in to draw a large police response when, in actuality, it's all a hoax.

Earlier this week, two schools in Rialto were locked down due to threats that were eventually determined to be unfounded.

On Monday, Rialto High School was locked down after someone threatened the school with weapons and explosives. After a search, police found no shots fired and no explosives. One student was detained as a person of interest.

On Tuesday, Carter High School was placed on lockdown after a report of an armed person on campus. The lockdown was lifted hours later after the threat was unfounded.

"Unfortunately, schools have increasingly been targeted by false emergency calls known as 'swatting'. These hoaxes are designed to create panic and waste emergency resources," Gonzales-Lawrence said. "Please know that our school and law enforcement treat every call with the utmost seriousness while also working diligently to identify and prevent these types of incident."