GERING - Police are investigating a report of a false active shooter at a Gering school Thursday morning.

In an announcement to parents and students, Gering Public Schools administration said a Google-generated number called police dispatch at approximately 8:30 a.m. to report an emergency at Gering High School. Authorities responded immediately and the school district put in place their crisis plan procedures. 

After an initial walk-through all high school buildings, authorities determined the call was a hoax. All Gering schools remained on elevated security through the remainder of the school day Thursday. 

"We have activated the Crisis Response Team to Gering High School and members will be available to meet with students and staff who need support in processing the events," the school said in a press release.

There were similar calls to schools in Columbus, Hastings, Kearney, Omaha, and Grand Island on Thursday. 

The Nebraska State Patrol says they received information regarding several false reports of school shootings that have been placed to 911 call centers across Nebraska.  There is no credible information that any such school shooting has taken place in Nebraska.

The pattern is similar to what occurred in Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Texas, and Vermont. The hoax has been named "swatting," where a caller reports an incident at a local school that is later discovered to be untrue. There have been distinct similarities in the calls received by schools in other states, such as the use of VOIP technology to mask the caller’s identity and location, using or mocking a foreign accent, mispronouncing school or town names, and pretending that they are hiding inside the school themselves.

The Nebraska Information Analysis Center (NIAC), a division of the Nebraska State Patrol, provided a bulletin to law enforcement agencies across the state advising authorities to be prepared in the event the calls target Nebraska schools.

In Colorado, numerous schools from Alamosa in southern Colorado to Denver, Fort Morgan, and Sterling in northeast Colorado received calls reporting a pending threat. So far, all of the calls have been false.

The Nebraska State Patrol is assisting any local law enforcement agencies and school districts that receive these calls. Anyone with information regarding the origin of these calls is urged to call NIAC at 888-580-6422 or submit an online tip at the NIAC Suspicious Activity Report site https://sars.nebraska.gov.