Mass shootings, including the one at a Nashville Christian school on Monday, are horrifying.

The emotional trauma experienced by survivors and the families of the victims must be indescribable.

No words seem adequate to comfort them.

Thankfully, the Altoona area was spared that horrid experience Wednesday morning.

But what police, school personnel, parents and the community faced when a fake school shooting call came into the Mifflin County 911 Center was barbaric.

The fear that spread throughout the community — and especially among the families of Altoona Area High School parents and staff — was extremely cruel.

Just imagine wondering if a loved one in the building was alive or dead, especially given what the nation has experienced far too many times, including just two days earlier in Nashville.

Altoona wasn’t the only community to fall victim of such a hoax.

Regionally, it happened to Bishop Carroll Catholic High School in Ebensburg as well as Bellefonte in Centre County.

Virtually every newspaper in the state — Pittsburgh, Allentown, Scranton, Sharon, Meadville — featured Page 1 coverage of the hoax called into a school in their area.

Fortunately on Wednesday, all proved to be unfounded. But given what we have seen, the thought it cannot happen here provides no comfort.

Some speculate these calls were computer generated, but Altoona police Sgt. Matthew Plummer said he thought it was a real voice when he heard the recording.

The investigation into the source or sources of the calls will continue, and we hope those responsible will be held to account and severely punished — and we mean severely punished.

These calls were not pranks or jokes. The response of police, the schools, parents and the community shows there was nothing funny about the calls.

But if there is a bright side to this disturbing experience, it is the quick action by law enforcement and the schools.

District, city and township police immediately responded, wasting no seconds to enter the high school to search for a potential shooter.

There seemed to have been none of the hesitancy that marred other shooting incidents.

Police officers deserve commendation for their willingness to put their own lives on the line to save our kids.

The Altoona Area School District and its staff also displayed a well-practiced and thought-out response in trying to keep everyone safe.

While things can always be tweaked, those handling Wednesday’s hoax deserve our thanks.

It was also gratifying to see other county school districts and entities institute lockdowns and similar precautions when word got out.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief when it was revealed no shooter was found — and we hope one never will be.

Seeing that horror from afar is frightening enough.