Cop fires gun into elementary school floor in ‘swatting’ incident, Colorado police say

A police officer accidentally fired a gunshot into the floor of an Estes Park elementary school while investigating a rash of bogus shooting calls, Colorado authorities reported.

No children were present at the time Wednesday, Feb. 22, and no injuries were reported, Estes Park police said in a news release. An investigation into the accident continues.

Police across Colorado responded to a series of so-called “swatting” calls to school districts and authorities, threatening or reporting bogus shooting incidents, KUSA reported.

“Swatting” calls try to provoke an armed police response with false reports of an ongoing active shooting incident at a home or public place.

Many of the calls in Colorado were made in alphabetical order by the name of the districts involved, KUSA reported.

In Estes Park, someone called at 9:23 a.m. to threaten a shooting at Estes Park High School, which was closed for the day because of snow, police said.

Police responded to schools in the city to ensure they were empty and search the surrounding area, the release said.

Similar calls were reported in Denver, Aurora, Aspen, Boulder and other Colorado cities, KUSA reported.

Estes Park is a city of 5,800 people near Rocky Mountain National Park, about 65 miles northwest of Denver.

This story was originally published February 23, 2023 at 10:42 AM with the headline "Cop fires gun into elementary school floor in ‘swatting’ incident, Colorado police say."