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"The level of security must be lifted for law enforcement," Saudino told Daily Voice in an interview after the buildings were declared safe. "They really can't investigate effectively when they can't get information (from the phone companies) about where the calls are being routed from."
An automated source falsely made it appear that all of the overnight calls to the 10 separate districts had come from a Skype number in Bakersfield, CA, when "they were routed through there from somewhere else," the sheriff said.
The caller said a bomb was set to go off and there would be a mass shooting, he said.
"They came in overnight," Saudino told Daily Voice. "As people came to school this morning, they found the messages and began reporting them."
The first was from Leonia around 8:30 a.m., he said.
Dwight Morrow High School in Englewood and schools in Bergenfield, Clifton, Hackensack, Fair Lawn, Garfield, New Milford, Teaneck and Tenafly also received threats from the same number, Saudino said.
Garfield locked down all 12 of its schools and Hackensack all seven of its schools, while only the high schools in the other districts were affected, he said.
A threat also was received in Sayreville and at various other locations around the country, including Massachusetts and Florida, the sheriff noted.
The Bergen County Prosecutor's Computer Crimes Unit has made the case a top priority, Saudino said.
The FBI has offered assistance, acting Bergen County Prosecutor Gurbir Grewal added.
A similar incident in November 2014 forced the evacuations of seven schools in five Bergen towns. All came from the same number.
This form of swatting "has become very sophisticated," Saudino said. "They're able to disguise the source. I'd like to see legislation to free up the phone information to help police track them down."
All 26 schools in Bergen County were searched and cleared by K-9 units, with help from dogs sent by Jersey City and New Jersey State Police, by 1 p.m., he said.
"It might be tempting to say this is a prank, just like the other ones, but we can't do that," the sheriff said. "We must respond in full force as if it were a real threat. We have no choice. This involves the safety of our chldren."
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