NEW HANOVER COUNTY — Law enforcement responded to two threats called into New Hanover High School toward the end of the school day on Thursday. It prompted the campus to go into secure status, leaving parents waiting longer to pick up their children and bus schedules operating later than usual.
A secure status is when students and staff are required to be locked indoors of the educational facility due to a threat or hazard outside of the school area, though classroom activities can continue. According to Lt. Jerry Brewer with the New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office, two threats triggered the response.
First, a bomb threat was made and then another call came in stating anyone who left the building would be shot.
Brewer said the SWAT, bomb squad unit, and varied law enforcement officers responded quickly. They were armed on campus and around the perimeter, from 12th up to 15th streets, as SWAT did a sweep of the campus and found no activity; thus, the calls were deemed empty threats.
New Hanover County Schools district did not respond to Port City Daily’s request for comment.
Parents on social media expressed dismay not knowing why their kids were being held past the school bell, some waiting in the pickup line with little information and others waiting at bus stops past their child’s normal time of arrival.
One anonymous parent expressed disappointment over lack of communication from the district, denoting frustration “to find out from my kid’s text.”
A message, as included below, was sent to notify parents and guardians of suspicious activity, though the details of why there was a secure status were not included.
Dear Parent or Guardian,
New Hanover High School is currently in a Secure due to activity in the area.
The safety and security of your child is our top priority. We are actively responding to the situation and collaborating with emergency responders. At this time, we ask that parents stay where they are and remain available to receive updates and instructions as needed.
We will continue to monitor the situation and update you further as soon as we have more information.
What is the Secure Action? *
The Secure Action is called when there is a threat or hazard outside of the school building. Secure uses the security of the physical facility to act as protection. During Secure, all students and staff are brought into the secure building and all exterior doors are locked. Classes are able to continue uninterrupted inside the building.
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