Police respond to false threats at several Kansas City-area schools Monday

Officials determined that at least three reported shootings Monday morning at Kansas City-area schools were false.

An unknown person called the North Kansas City Police Department around 11:50 a.m., saying multiple people had been shot in a room at North Kansas City High School, a spokeswoman with the Clay County Sheriff’s Office said.

No other calls corroborated the report, and police responded and concluded there was no threat. For a few minutes, the school continued teaching while on an internal lockdown.

The police department is investigating the origin of the false threat.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol also helped respond to several other false threats across the area, including at Smith-Cotton Junior High School in Sedalia and Knob Nobster High School.

All the calls turned out to be hoaxes, but Sgt. Andy Bell said each agency would have to determine if the incidents were cases of swatting, or calls to try to falsely direct law enforcement to one area.

Ozark High School also announced a lockdown around 2:40 p.m. after reports of a shooting. The area was cleared by officials within the hour.

The calls came the same day as a shooting at a Nashville private school that killed three students and three adults.