Kenosha police address parents following hoax active shooter calls

KENOSHA, Wis. (CBS 58) -- Kenosha police are addressing parents after more than a dozen Wisconsin schools went into lockdown Thursday, Oct. 20.

They were targeted by hoax calls that claimed an active shooter was in the schools.

In a message on Facebook Friday, Kenosha police sympathized with parents who rushed to Bradford High School when they got word of a threat. But police say it added to the chaos. They say if the threat had been real, they need the roads clear for emergency vehicles.

"I understand this is a huge, huge ask for parents to trust the police department and trust the training that we have received and that we implement and that your schools have been trained on to implement," said Lt. Joseph Nosalik, Kenosha Police Department. "The influx of parents though, coming to that school, although we understand the emotion behind it and their logic behind it, simply adds chaos to something that is also tremendously chaotic and completely slows down the works."

Whoever is responsible for the hoax calls faces felony charges that carry a penalty of a $10,000 fine, more than three years in prison, or both.