Barrington High School was locked down on Monday morning, March 27, after officials received a call stating that there was a shooter at the school. 

The call was bogus and part of a statewide “swatting” incident, said Barrington Police Chief Michael Correia.

The chief said numerous schools across the state received hoax calls Monday morning issuing similar warnings. According to Chief Correia, Cumberland, East Providence, Bristol, Chariho, Warwick, Cranston, Barrington, Westerly, Rogers and Narragansett were among the districts to receive the swatting calls on Monday morning.

Chief Correia confirmed that the call was nearly identical to a swatting call Barrington received during February school vacation week. 

“My worry is that they get numb to these,” Chief Correia said. “We can’t let our guard down. We have to stay vigilant.”

Chief Correia said Barrington received the call at about 10:29 a.m., and six police officers responded to the scene a short time later. Officers conducted a full check of the building and, finding no evidence of the threat, allowed the school day to resume. 

Chief Correia said investigators will dig deeper into the phony calls this week. He said it may be difficult to identify the caller or callers.

“I would be cautiously optimistic, at best,” Chief Correia said.