House set to consider Colorado bill that would make falsely reporting an active shooter a felony

COLORADO (KRDO) -- A bill is headed to the Colorado House of Representatives that would make the false reporting of an active shooter or mass shooting a felony.

Senate Bill 247 passed through the State Senate unanimously last week.

"It's critically important for us to acknowledge the seriousness of this offense and the harm that it causes both to individuals and a community more broadly," said Arnold Hauman, Deputy Director of the Colorado District Attorney's Council.

Last September, FBI Denver put out a statement that they were "aware of numerous swatting incidents statewide where a report of an active shooter at a school [was] made," including one that came into the Colorado Springs Police Department (CSPD).

It's one of the multiple times CSPD has gotten what they refer to as a "swatting call," a hoax where a prank caller falsely reports a mass shooting or active shooter.

The bill would make the "false reporting of a mass shooting or active shooter a class 6 felony."

It would add to a law that already exists, the Victim's Rights Act, which prohibits false reporting of emergencies such as bombings.

However, even though the bill has passed through the State Senate, groups like the Colorado Criminal Defense Bar have their reservations.

"It shouldn't be our primary reaction to any societal problem to criminalize, to create new crimes, to increase criminal penalties, to try to incarcerate people. That's not getting at the root of the problem," said Tristan Gorman, Policy Director for the group.

Their concern is that it could criminalize and punish kids who engage in false reporting after experiencing violence at schools themselves.