HHS Prepares for Potential SWAT Calls

Many Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) calls have been happening in high schools around Nebraska lately, including Kearney, Lincoln, and Aurora. A SWAT call is when a false phone call is made to either the police department or a building, threatening an active danger inside the building. SWAT calls are a global problem that happen in many other states other than just Nebraska. Many surrounding schools in Nebraska, such as HHS, are preparing for anything that may happen. Jeff Linden, the principal at Hastings High School (HHS), uses his past experiences to work on keeping our school running smoothly and securely.

“When these SWAT calls happen, we usually get these heads-up from the police department so they are not just randomly showing up. If the school gets a call, there are usually things that the office does and certain protocols that go into play. They usually have particular things to tell us, and they know that they can go into my office or talk to the school officer, School Resource Officer Emily Ostdiek,” said Linden.

The reason schools are so worried about SWAT calls lately is three SWAT call incidents have happened in the course of a month. The first SWAT call in Nebraska this month was at Lincoln South West High School on September 9, 2026. They discovered the call had no reliable information and it was a hoax, so school continued as normal. On September 10, 2026, Aurora High School received a SWAT call. When this happened, the whole school went into lockdown to protect the students and staff; after the school was cleared, it went back to normal. The last and most recent SWAT call happened on September 11, 2026. This was at Kearney High School. The school went into a secure and continued as normal after the call was determined to be a hoax.

“We try not to put students in any unneeded lockdowns. Lockdowns are really our last resort, and we only really do them if we have to and it’s an actual threat,” said Linden.

A couple of years ago, HHS received a SWAT call. This was Linden’s first year as a principal at HHS, so he did not know the building from top to bottom at that point. The Hastings Police Department received a call reporting that a person was actively planning a mass shooting. In the call, they reported this was happening or going to happen in room 100 of the school. Officer Ostdiek showed up with six other police officers, asking Linden where room 100 was, not knowing that room 100 did not exist.

“We went into lockdown, and since we received that call and the police showed up, I thought, okay, this thing has to be legit. In that moment, my military brain kicked in because my goal in this job is to protect everybody and to make sure everyone is safe. I really just went into combat mode, asking myself and the others around me ‘Okay, what is one thing I can do to keep everyone safe?” said Linden.

Hastings High has a lockdown drill twice a year, once in the fall and once in the spring. During these drills, students practice following given instructions and not getting up until it is safe. This helps teachers and students be prepared to move quickly and quietly to safety.

“When we do these drills, we do them for a purpose. We don’t do it to inconvenience you and we are not messing with you. It is very important to do these things correctly in the event that anything were to happen,” said Linden

If you hear anyone making jokes, serious comments, or threats about harming the school, report it to a trusted adult immediately. Linden and Officer Ostdeik, or anyone else in the school, is open to hearing about it and helping out when they can. Linden encourages students to report threats, even if they believe someone may be joking.

“If you overhear people joking about that or making active threats, there is nothing wrong with reporting that. The main thing I want people to know is that we will investigate and have conversations with those people. We will work with our offices here in Hastings and the officers in the building in case it did become a legal matter, but we will try our best to work with you,” said Linden.