The Minot Police Department responded to a call of an active shooter threat at Minot High School’s Central Campus on Thursday, but have determined that it was false. There have been reports of other such threats being made against schools in Bismarck, Mandan, Grand Forks, Jamestown and Fargo, and Minot Police are assisting in the broader investigation into these incidents.

Williston Police Department officials said they haven’t had a similar hoax threat, but they have placed extra officers at Williston High School in the event that they do.

Minot parents were notified of the threat by the school on Thursday morning, and there was an immediate response from Minot Police and the Ward County Sheriff’s Office on campus. Despite law enforcement believing the call to be a hoax, the school still moved for all students and staff to Secure-in-Place as a precautionary measure while a thorough check of the building was completed.

Central Campus Principal Harlan Johnson said the whole affair was over in about 20 minutes and credited the ParentSquare app for allowing the school to effectively communicate with parents about the situation. Johnson said that the students and staff soon got back into the groove to finish out the rest of the day.

“I’ve chatted with kids and spoken to some staff, and we’re trained for this kind of thing. Kids understand this is something that we have practiced for. It’s not something we want to be unprepared for,” Johnson said, “We practice in the hope we never have to experience something like this but we want to be sure we have everything in place if it does.”