Education

Wake Forest schools on heightened security Wednesday after bomb threat

A bomb threat prompted a lockdown at Heritage Middle School, Heritage High School and Heritage elementary school, according to police.

Posted Updated

By
Candace Sweat
, WRAL reporter, Janine Bowen, WRAL.com editor & Hannah Webster, WRAL.com editor
WAKE FOREST, N.C. — A bomb threat prompted a Tuesday lockdown at Heritage Middle School, Heritage High School and Heritage Elementary School, according to police.

As of Tuesday night, authorities have found no evidence of explosives on the school's campus, but said they were still taking the the threat very seriously.

Explosive detection dogs completed thorough sweeps at the schools Tuesday evening, and a large police presence will be visible at all three school Wednesday, with extra patrols assigned to other Wake Forest schools.

Wake Forest police said school officials received a call at about 8:30 a.m. from a person outside the school who said a bomb would be delivered to Heritage Middle at a specific time Tuesday afternoon.

School officials immediately contacted law enforcement and Wake County Public School System security. Authorities began an investigation while additional security was provided at all three schools, officials said.

Wake Forest spokesman Bill Crabtree said the primary goal is to keep students safe and parents at ease. Authorities will asses at the end of the day Wednesday if extra security will continue throughout the week.

"In the current climate in which we live, it's important that we take every threat seriously," he said.

School officials said the schools were under a “code yellow” lockdown, which means doors are locked and nobody is allowed in or out of the building. The lockdown was lifted from each school when students were dismissed for the day.

“I was just wondering what was going to happen and if anybody was going to get hurt or anything because there were so many different rumors going around the school,” student Holden Jones said.

As a result of the threat to deliver a bomb, authorities took extra precautions when dismissing students, limiting the number of vehicles that could get near the school at one time.

Police said parents of students who normally walk to school were required Tuesday afternoon to make arrangements to pick their children up via carpool. Any parent who arrived at the school to pick up a child had to to show ID to officers on the scene, police said.

“We pray, we teach our kids to pray. We teach them about the safety measures that are put into place and to know that they’re in the best care that they can be in, that things do happen, but we have a higher power that’s looking out for us so we just trust in that,” parent April Ward said.

Other parents described the threat as unsettling.

“It definitely scares me. It makes me emotional because of all the shootings and threats that have been going on lately. You think it’s never going to be your school,” parent Kate Allan said.

School officials said all after-school activities at the three schools were canceled as a result of the investigation.

"Unfortunately, in this day and age, it happens too often, and the first thing you do is start worrying about your kids," parent Nelson Jones said. "But luckily, if you look around, I think they've got quite a bit of presence with the police."

Police said no suspects were in custody as of Tuesday afternoon. Anybody with information is asked to call Wake Forest police at 919-554-6150.

School officials said there have been several threats to Wake County schools since the mass shooting at a Florida high school last month.

Garner Magnet High School student James Tyrone Davis Jr., 17, was charged with possession of a weapon on a school campus after he was found with a Ruger handgun in the waistband of his jeans last week. On Feb. 16, another student at the school was suspended for a year for bringing a gun to school.

At Middle Creek High School, student Craig Garner West was charged last month after authorities said he brought a pellet gun to school. An attorney for West said the weapon was brought to school accidentally.

A Knightdale High School student who tweeted a photo of himself pointing a gun and tagged the Wake County school district was charged with disorderly conduct toward a school and possession of a handgun by a minor.

A new committee of state lawmakers will hold its first meeting Wednesday to consider possible legislation to improve security at North Carolina schools.

 Credits 

Copyright 2024 by Capitol Broadcasting Company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.