Our view: In emergencies, officials urge calm

It’s been more than two weeks since the Cloquet school district was victimized by a hoax reporting a threat of active violence within the high school. Cloquet joined more than a dozen schools across the state in being swept up by the expansive “swatting” effort.

Rochester Mayor Kim Norton’s “beyond angry” response was widely shared across media platforms.

We can relate. But we’re not going to presume to know how we can stop foreign actors from using masking technology to make prank threats against our school communities. The calls have been made multiple times now locally, and figure to require commercial innovation and federal intervention to solve and prevent.

The “swatting” techniques have yielded intended results — forcing schools into lockdown, sowing fear and instability, and wasting precious time and resources of school officials, first responders and authorities who are already poised to act during an unparalleled era of school shootings.

But there are things we can do and are already doing.

First, we can stay reasonably clear of school campuses in the immediate term so emergency personnel can have ready access.

Superintendent Michael Cary reported several civilians reacting to social media reports and showing up on campus during the swatting incident.

He called for a response that might seem counterintuitive to the natural inclination to react.

“When we have one of these threats, whether it’s fake or real, people need to stay away from the buildings,” Cary said. “I understand the natural concern is to rush to make sure your loved ones are OK, but when everyone does that, what it does is create congestion around the school site. It creates a situation where law enforcement and first responders can’t get there.”

Additionally, we should work together to curb panic by refraining from spreading rumors which can make staying calm difficult or even impossible. Remember, when we don’t hear from authorities in the immediate term, it means they’re employing their response to keep our young students and professionals as safe as possible.

According to police chief Derek Randall, the city’s officers engage in a wide range of training aimed at confronting our worst fears.

“We collaborate with our schools, neighboring agencies, the county emergency manager, and fire departments in active shooter/mass casualty response,” Randall told the Pine Knot. “Recently, some of us attended (an) active shooter exercise development workshop for these scenarios.”

It’s in times of crisis, real and fake, that we lean on the expertise of those who’ve spent their professional lives preparing for the worst. If we stay calm and don’t let our nightmares lead the way, we’ll help them do their jobs and, perhaps, prevent casualties and save lives.