Cobb Schools Lockdown Triggered By 'Targeted, External' Attack

COBB COUNTY, GA — A false alarm that forced Cobb County schools into lockdown earlier this month was the result of a “targeted, external” attack on the district’s emergency warning system, according to police and school officials.

“We do not yet know the motives of those attacking the District's AlertPoint system,” Cobb County School District spokesperson Nan Kiel said in a statement released Wednesday afternoon. “However, it appears the crime was committed to disrupt education across the District, create district-wide chaos, and produce anxiety in the District's students, parents, and staff.

“This was not a ‘prank’, nor will it be treated like one,” Kiel added.

More than 100 Cobb County schools went into code-red lockdown on Feb. 2, signaling an active threat like a school shooter. The district said at the time that the alarm was a malfunction, according to Atlanta news station WXIA-TV.

After a closer look at the evidence, Cobb County police investigators later determined that the false alarm was the result of a “targeted, external attack" on the district’s AlertPoint system, Kiel said.

While the Cobb County police have given the school system permission to share a general update on the attack, they’re still not disclosing who conducted the attack or why it happened.

Cobb County has the second largest school district in Georgia.

Anyone with information on the attack is asked to contact the Cobb County Police Department at 770-499-4111 or the Cobb County School District Police Department at 470-689-0298.