NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — There's been a concerning increase in fake threats called into college campuses nationwide.

Six have been reported since last Thursday. The most recent happened on Monday night at the University of Colorado.

When dispatchers answer the call, they know their response can mean the difference between life and death.

"You never know who is on the other line," Metro Nashville 911 Operations Supervisor Sebrina Jackson said. "We treat every call with a purpose."

Lately, there's been an uptick in swatting nationwide.

Jackson said these pranks make her team's job harder, and they can also endanger responding officers.

"We're thankful that it's not real, but it's also concerning that people think it's OK to do that," Jackson said.

In the past week, six false shooting calls have happened at college campuses, including the University of Tennessee Chattanooga and Villanova.

A swatting call that sticks out in Jackson's mind is a day or so after the Covenant School mass shooting in 2023.

"People don't realize how they can hurt people when they do that," Jackson said. "We hope they'll think about that before they do it."

Jackson said her team trains for these types of calls and lets police know if they believe it could be fake.

Dispatchers said swatting distracts from real emergencies.

In Tennessee, it's illegal to make threats of mass violence against schools including on college campuses.

News Source : https://www.wkrn.com/news/alarming-rise-in-swatting-calls-made-to-college-campuses/