Atlanta area schools lift lockdowns after phone threats
At least two Atlanta area schools were placed on lockdowns Wednesday morning after receiving phone threats but then quickly reopened after officials determined the buildings were safe, according to school and police officials.
The Marist School, a Catholic school in Brookhaven, was locked down and then cleared after it received a phone call threatening “an armed assailant approaching campus as well as bombs on campus,” the school confirmed to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
“There was not an active threat, and we have just received an ‘all clear,’” Cristina Vásconez Herrera, Marist’s communications director, said in an email just after 12:30 p.m.
Brookhaven police said the call came in around 9:50 a.m., and the school was locked down “as a precautionary measure.”
Midtown High School also notified parents Wednesday it was on an exterior lockdown around 10 a.m. “due to a threat made against the school via phone” and said police were investigating at the campus near Piedmont Park in Atlanta. The lockdown was lifted once police determined the phone threat was not credible, according to a follow-up message sent to parents.
Brookhaven police said the agency is aware “other schools throughout the Metro Atlanta area had received similar threatening calls around the same time” as the Marist threat.
“The school has since been cleared by law enforcement, the lockdown has been lifted, and all students, faculty, and staff are safe. This remains an active and ongoing investigation. No additional details will be released at this time to protect the integrity of the investigation,” Brookhaven police said.
It was not immediately clear how many schools received threats Wednesday, though several Atlanta schools reported receiving similar issues Monday. An Atlanta Public Schools spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for information.
School shooting threats occur regularly and are often determined to be hoaxes. But they often have an outsized impact on students and parents. School districts have taken additional measures in recent years to be prepared to respond to threats, the AJC has reported.
— Staff writer Vanessa McCray contributed to this article. This is a developing story. Please return to AJC.com for updates.