Roxana Jr/Sr High School went on lockdown just after 1 PM on April 1 because a student at the high school allegedly texted a member of his family that shots had been fired at the school and the family member notified authorities, several news agencies are reporting (Belleville News-Democrat, CBS, Fox, Alton Daily News).
Police not only from Roxana and the Illinois State Police but also from Wood River, South Roxana, Hamel, Hartford, Bethalto, Madison County, Granite City, East Alton, and possibly a few other agencies responded to the school by about 1:15, according to scanner traffic. Law enforcement quickly identified the student and confirmed that no shots had been fired at the school.
The lockdown was lifted at 2:08 PM, students said, and they were allowed to go home at the normal dismissal time, 2:15. All after-school activities were cancelled for today, however.
Roxana Police Chief Will Cunningham advised people against considering a similar hoax in the future. “This is not the direction to go,” the Telegraph quoted him as saying. “This is a very serious incident. This is something that all local responders and schools are trained for. To think that someone would connive of a prank like this is a very serious mistake.”
Because lockdown drills have become a regular part of schools today, Roxana Superintendent of Schools Debra Kreutztrager said she didn’t believe students would be concerned about returning to school Wednesday. “We regularly do drills and staff are trained to respond,” she was quoted as saying. “Our staff are to be commended for how they followed the lockdown procedures today.”
In an unrelated incident, a Mt Airy, Md., man was charged today with calling in false threats on March 20 of “shooting and chaos” at South Carroll High School in Sykesville, the Baltimore Sun reports. The Carroll County Sheriff’s Office charged Timothy Edgar Baker, 20, with making the threats to the high school. Mr Baker said in several telephone calls that the school would “be a Columbine-like incident,” according to a spokesman for the Sheriff’s Office. South Carroll was on lockdown for about four hours, extending to about 7 PM, because of the hoax.
Back in Illinois, one 16-year-old student at Roxana Sr High School was quoted as saying she was just glad everyone was all right.
Authorities have not released the names of any students who were questioned in connection with the hoax, and information was not immediately available as to the specific charges that might be filed against them.
