LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- It was a scary morning for some JCPS students and staff after swatting calls came in about bomb threats at four schools. They were never in any real danger.

Students and staff at Ballard High School were held in the school's outdoor stadium on the football field before classes began Wednesday after a bomb threat was called into the school. 

Ballard was one of several JCPS schools that increased security after similar threats were received. JCPS officials said the threats were part of a "national swatting incident."

Parents of Ballard students received messages alerting them to the threat around 8 a.m. 

Students at Ballard were allowed to re-enter the school just before 9 a.m. A note from the school said police "walked through the building" and determined there was no threat before giving the all-clear. 

Callahan said Ballard wasn't the only school that received threats on Wednesday. Other JCPS schools that received threats and heightened security included Atherton High School, Wilder Elementary and Westport Middle School. Those schools increased security after the threats, but Callahan said "all schools are back to normal operations." 

JCPS officials said in a written statement that they are working with the FBI and Homeland Security to determine the source of the threats. 

Callahan said Ballard received the first threat in a phone call, and it was quickly followed by threats at several other schools. 

"That phone call said that a bomb was going to go off at the school," Callahan said. "It was around the same time that students were going to be arriving to school buses. We're going to be start coming in about 15 minutes after that call was received. So the decision was made that we would not bring students into the school right away."

Callahan said officials followed established safety protocols at other schools that were threatened.

"We then very quickly started getting calls to other schools," Callahan said. "Westport Middle School was the next school that received calls. Atherton High School also received calls, and Wilder Elementary School. So if schools were already in session, students were in there already in class already taking tasks doing what they do every day."

Officials quickly realized that they were part of a nationwide swatting incident.

Although there was no real threat, Callahan said "the sad part about this is this causes a lot of stress for our students that causes stress for staff it causes stress for community members as well because they don't know if something is legitimate. That's why we tried to get that information out as quickly as we could when we learned that this was swatting and not a real threat. Our students and staff practice for things like this all the time. They are prepared."

"At first it was really scary because everyone was moving and it was hectic," 8th grader Kaelyn Kenney said. "Once we knew what was going on, it was more calming to know nothing bad was going to happen."

Kaelyn's mother said she was "freaking out a little bit," so just to be safe, she checked her daughter out of Westport Middle School. More than a dozen other parents followed suit.

"it made me nervous because I don't really know what's going on," parent Miguel Jurez said as he picked up his two students. "You know, these days, it's really messed up."

This isn't the first time JCPS has been targeted in swatting incidents. Security was heightened at several schools in November 2023, including duPont Manual High School, Noe Middle School and Olmsted Academy North. 

A report from the National Association of School Resource Officers said there were at least 174 instances of swatting calls during the 2022-2023 school year. 

Even though the threats were just a hoax, Callahan said some students can be traumatized. "It's something that causes trauma for some of our students. This can be really scary for some kids who don't know what's going on and for parents who don't know what's going on.

"So it's just a lot of unnecessary stress, unnecessary work that needs to be done. It's a lot of work to make sure that you're keeping an entire school calm, keeping everything normal for kids and of course, making sure that everything is safe and following those safety procedures."

JCPS has its own police force, but it is coordinating with Louisville Metro Police, Homeland Security and the FBI. An agent from Louisville's FBI office released the following statement on the investigation: 

"FBI Louisville is aware of the hoax incidents wherein a bomb threat at a school is made. The FBI takes hoax threats very seriously because it puts innocent people at risk, causes undue stress and fear to the public, and wastes valuable law enforcement resources. While we have no information to indicate a specific and credible threat, we will continue to work with our local, state, and federal law enforcement partners to gather, share, and act upon threat information as it comes to our attention. We urge the public to remain vigilant, and report any and all suspicious activity and/or individuals to law enforcement immediately."

A Catholic school -- St. Margaret Mary --  sent a message to parents saying the school was going on a soft lockdown after it learned about the threats to other area schools. The message said "there is no direct threat against St. Margaret Mary."

Trinity High School students were on remote learning on Tuesday and Wednesday after "a threat was discovered at school in a restroom," according to St. Matthews Police Chief Col. Barry Wilkerson. That threat is not believed to be linked to the nationwide swatting incident. 

Wilkerson said the Trinity investigation is ongoing. 

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