HOUSTON – The Federal Bureau of Investigation is now assisting the Houston Police Department in the Heights High School active shooter hoax.
The FBI confirmed the partnership to KPRC through a statement on Wednesday.
“I can confirm that FBI Houston is working alongside the Houston Police Department in this incident. Due to the ongoing investigation, we are unable to provide more details.
However, it is important to note that law enforcement is going to use all available resources to investigate a school threat until we determine whether it is real or not. Investigating hoax threats drains law enforcement resources and diverts us from responding to an actual crisis. Hoax threats can shut down school campuses, cause undue stress and fear to the public, and cost taxpayers a lot of money; not to mention ruin the future of those making the hoax threats as they’ll likely have a criminal record.”
KPRC learned similar scenarios involving prank calls and threats were made to schools in Dallas, Waco, and Pflugerville.
KPRC 2 legal Analyst Brian Wice said the person(s) responsible would face serious charges if arrested.
“This conduct falls under the terroristic threat statute which in most situations is a misdemeanor. What makes it a felony is this instance is that the conduct involved the interruption of a public service or places the public or substantial portion of public in fear of serious bodily injury,” Wice said.
Wice told us that multiple charges could be filed against the same person if it’s determined they are responsible for all the threats across the state.
“He or she could be charged in each incident as a separate offense. Remember it’s third-degree felony confinement in the Texas penitentiary for anywhere from two years to 10 years and a $10,000 fine,” Wice said.
KPRC also reached out to HISD to learn more about the response time.
We obtained this statement:
Statement from HISD Chief of Engagement Max Moll
“We are grateful that yesterday’s threat at Heights High School was a false alarm, and all students are safe. HISD is committed to the safety and security of every student in every building and yesterday’s response demonstrated our dedication to achieving this goal. Officers stationed at Heights HS, like all HISD high schools, were able to immediately respond when the threat came in and determine that it was unsubstantiated due to the coordinated response with the Houston Police Department and Houston Fire Department. HISD was able to disseminate communications containing verified information to Heights HS families within 25 minutes of becoming aware of the situation thanks to the efforts of all involved.
Unsubstantiated threats such as this aim to throw our learning environments into disarray and create uncertainty at every level and we will not allow that to happen. We will continue to work with our community and external partners to put the safety of students and families first with a focus on conveying accurate and timely communication as it becomes available. We continue to encourage feedback and collaboration from our families because it will take all of us working together to foster the safest learning environment possible for all students.”