Multiple school districts were placed on lockdown in Berrien County on Thursday due to a swatting call, or a false report of a threat intended to generate a large police response.

St. Joseph Public Schools Superintendent Kristen Bawks says the school district received a call from Berrien County Central Dispatch around 12:30 p.m. regarding a possible external threat to the high school. Therefore, the district went on lockdown. Meanwhile, the same thing was happening at Lakeshore Public Schools.

After about a half hour, the districts started coming out of lockdown and they were later cleared when it was determined there was no actual threat.

Bawks says, “We are confident that our students are safe, therefore our buildings are no longer in lockdown.” She says the false swatting call came from an IP address overseas and that several school districts experienced similar swatting incidents Thursday afternoon.

The Berrien County Sheriff’s Department tells us it’s working with the affected schools.

There were also reports of lockdowns at Our Lady of the Lake and Watervliet.

The St. Joseph Department of Public Safety says school districts across the United States have been receiving these false swatting calls recently.