Wakefield High goes into Code Red Lockdown after nearby shooting

A Code Red Lockdown was issued after a shooting just blocks from Wakefield Elementary, Middle and High schools.

Raleigh police said the school was never the target of today's shooting, and there was no active shooter.

But that wasn't clear to Sarah Perez when a picture popped up on her phone Monday afternoon of students at Wakefield Middle School, arms around their knees, huddled against the wall.

That picture was taken by her daughter.

"I received the pictures of the lockdown classroom with her saying 'mom help me.'," said Perez. "I said, 'I'm coming right now,' and she said 'how do I get out of here.' I said 'I don't know.'"

Perez said she and her daughter both feared the worst.

"There's a school shooter," said Perez. "That's your first though after all the news."

Thankfully, no students were ultimately under threat Monday. The lockdown began around 3 p.m. and ended by 3:20 p.m.

But Perez said students and parents need to know, from the beginning, when the threat is an active shooter and when it's not.

"If kids get used to the idea that a Code Red is just some guy out there down the street, when there *is* an active shooter, they won't take it seriously," said Perez.

According to Raleigh police, the shooting ha​ppened about two blocks away from the Middle school.

A young man was shot in the road at the entrance to the Bell Wakefield Apartments.

The victim is expected to recover.

The shooter disappeared, running through a nearby neighborhood.

"There's different levels of anxiety from a shooting that's a mile down the road and somebody who's entering the school with the intention to shoot children ," said Perez.

WRAL News took Perez's concerns to Wake County Schools.

A spokesperson for the district stressed their first priority is keeping students safe.

The district noted Monday's lockdown only lasted about 10 minutes, which they said wasn't enough time to confirm information with police and get a message out to students and parents.

But Perez​ thinks the district can still do better.

"It shouldn't matter how fast the lockdown is," said Perez. "I feel like as a community we should have that discussion and say 'can we come up with a better system that doesn't traumatize children.'"

Wake County schools said any students who might need it after going through Monday's lockdown will have access to counseling.

Raleigh police are still searching for the shooter.