Local News

Danvers officer accidentally fires gun during ‘swatting’ incident at St. John’s Prep; BC High also receives hoax call

Police responded to both St. John's Prep in Danvers and Boston College High School in Dorchester Monday afternoon around 2 p.m.

Parents, friends and loved ones of Saint John’s Prep students reunited in the parking lot of a Stop and Shop after a threat of an active shooter on the school’s campus locked down the school. Jessica Rinaldi/Boston Globe

By Ross Cristantiello

updated on May 22, 2023

2 minutes to read

Both St. John’s Prep in Danvers and Boston College High School in Dorchester were the subject of active shooter reports Monday. Police said no threats were found at either location, but an officer did accidentally fire their weapon at St. John’s.

Danvers Police initially responded after receiving a report that someone was “threatening to cause harm” in a bathroom, Chief James P. Lovell said at a press conference.

An unnamed Danvers Police officer accidentally fired a weapon inside a bathroom in Brother Benjamin Hall. No one else was inside the room at the time and no one was injured, Lovell said.

The accidental discharge triggered a larger law enforcement response, Lovell said.

“Our initial response was a small response of our patrol force,” he said. “Due to the accidental discharge, that’s what really kind of ramped up the response. Typically we would have probably just kept our patrol force investigating initially, but when we had that report we didn’t know where it happened originally or how it occurred so we had a large response.”

A number of other people were inside Brother Benjamin Hall at the time of the accidental discharge, which prompted them to dial 911, Headmaster Edward P. Hardiman said at the press conference.

Dozens of State Police troopers and Danvers Police officers entered St. John’s just before 2 p.m. and did not identify any threats or find anyone injured. Officers continued to sweep the school building-by-building Monday afternoon.

Boston Police officers responded to BC High, located at 150 Morrissey Blvd., just after 2 p.m. They did not identify any threats, Boston Police said.

St. John’s officials said that the incident was likely the result of “swatting.” The term refers to false threats intended to trigger a response from law enforcement officials. It has plagued many Massachusetts schools in recent months.

“We believe that St. John’s was the victim of a Swatting call. Everyone is safe, there have been no injuries and police are currently clearing campus buildings as we account for all students,” a notice on the school’s website said Monday evening.

Students who fled school grounds on their own were being directed and shuttled to the Stop & Shop located at 301 Newbury St. in Danvers, according to State Police. Parents were also being directed there to be reunited with their children.

Investigations remain ongoing into the “swatting” incidents and the accidental discharge.