Several Washington schools evacuated, caught up in nationwide string of bomb threats

SEATTLE - Several schools across the Northwest were evacuated Monday, part of a nationwide string of what officials described as "robo-call" bomb threats.

Sequim's Greywolf Elementary School, Pasco's Ochoa Middle School,  Long Beach's Long Beach Elementary and  Longview's Kessler Elementary were among the schools that reported evacuations.



The threats could be the latest example of so-called "swatting" against schools.

In recent months, hoaxers playing online games have allegedly used proxy servers and other high-tech identity-disguising tools to anonymously threaten schools online or in phone messages with electronic voices to trigger a huge police response, including SWAT teams.

Evacuations were also reported in Oregon, Colorado, Delaware, Minnesota, New Hampshire and Wisconsin. Media outlets in the United Kingdom also reported evacuations.