Shocking lies of gun control activist who claimed he survived school shooting
Calvin Polachek, 23, claimed that his brother, best friend and nine classmates were killed in 2017 during a violent rampage at Dallas High School in rural Pennsylvania.
In an emotional speech before the Kentucky State Capitol in February, Polachek recounted the horror of returning to campus a week after the alleged tragedy.
He claimed that he was forced to routinely, 'walk past that spot where I saw my best friend and pretend it was all normal'.
'It was not normal,' he told the crowd, adding: 'Folks, that's been eight years, and I've been talking about this every single day since then for eight years.
'Eight years of talking about this, and there's been nothing that's changed.'
However it has since emerged that the business student lied about his ordeal and that the shooting 'never occurred', per Dallas Township Police Chief Doug Higgins.
Polachek's brother Luke is also 'very much alive and well', several Dallas High School alumni confirmed to WNEP.
Dallas School District Superintendent Dr. Thomas Duffy, who also refuted Polachek's fabricated tale, told DailyMail.com that it is, 'troubling and disappointing that a story like this would be out there, obviously with zero basis'.
Polachek's story first surfaced in February at a rally organized by Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America in support of Kentucky's gun safety education bill.
Police say his remarks were shared on social media and quoted in articles published by local news outlets, as well as global platforms including MSN and Yahoo News.
Duffy was made aware of the speech late Tuesday, alleging that it 'blew up pretty quickly' in the 'small, tight-knit' Dallas community.
'It wasn't well received by the school district or community,' he told Daily Mail, explaining that locals immediately, 'knew this is not true'.
'The community was outraged. It didn't surprise me, but it was affirming to see how quickly our school district community - including families teachers, administration and our alumni, who are all over the world - really rose to the occasion to defend the school district and underscore their disappointment that this story would be out there and was not aligned with reality,' Duffy said.
Police Chief Higgins was also quick to dispel Polachek's lies, saying in a press release Wednesday: 'Let us be absolutely clear: this event never occurred.
'There has never been a school shooting at Dallas High School. Not in 2017, and not at any point in our community's history.'
The police chief branded the 'widespread sharing of a fabricated tragedy' as both 'reckless' and 'harmful', alleging that it 'fuels unnecessary fear' and 'disrespects the experiences of real victims of school violence'.
Higgins further said that Polachek's lies are 'deeply troubling' and have caused, 'real harm' to the community.
He accused Polachek of undermining the school district's integrity and eroding public trust, adding: 'The people of Dallas Township deserve honesty.'
'We support the mission of those working to make schools safer. That work is vital. But effective advocacy must be built on truth,' Higgins continued.
'Falsely referencing a tragedy that never happened disrespects the memory of actual victims and distracts from meaningful progress.'
Polachek is a recent Dallas High School graduate and currently attends the University of Louisville.
He was involved in student government and played baseball throughout his high school career.
Little is known about his brother's whereabouts, but several classmates confirmed to local media that he is alive, with one even alleging that she received a Facebook friend request from Luke 'less than a year ago'.
DailyMail.com reached out to both Calvin and Luke Polachek for comment, but neither replied.
Sarah Cominsky, a member of Polachek's graduating class, said she is 'embarrassed' to have been his classmate.
She slammed Polachek for having the audacity to say something 'so wildly untrue', especially at an event 'where moms of victims' and 'student victims are speaking out'.
Courtney Moss, a Dallas High School alum who served on the student council with Polachek, added: 'Why would you lie about something this tragic when there are people that go through this every single day and have to relive this worst thing in their life, every single day?'
Superintendent Duffy said the school district was immediately focused on making sure the community, 'knew we were aware that this story was out there and that people knew this was not true'.
Although local residents were aware a shooting never occurred, district leadership wanted to make sure that families who were new to the area were aware Polachek has peddled false information.
He says the district is continuing its conversation with the community and looking at what next steps may entail.
'Most important, is just affirming this didn't happen,' Duffy added. He also applauded the, 'very supportive school district community and alumni base for very quickly communicating their outrage'.
Moms Demand Action, which hosted the February rally, said in a statement to DailyMail.com that Polachek is 'not an active volunteer' with the organization.
'We are deeply disappointed that someone would exploit the tragic, lived experience of many to use our platform to share a story that was not true,' a spokesperson said.
'Calvin reached out to our Kentucky chapter, shamefully lied to our volunteers, and shared a tragic story that we later learned was not true.
'This is an affront to the countless survivors of gun violence who show extraordinary courage every day by reliving their darkest moments in service of the fight to end our country's gun violence crisis.'
The spokesperson added that Moms Demand Action is 'revisiting our guidance to our grassroots networks in an effort to ensure this never happens again'.
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