What happened at Pennsbury High School’s West Campus Tuesday morning around 11:10 a.m. sent shivers up spines throughout the community.
Falls Township police cars responded to the building, school staff rushed through the hallways, and a voice came onto the loud speaker and announced there was a lockdown and it was not a drill.
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Frantic students, in the process of switching classes, took shelter in classrooms and many rushed out the doors in fear of the lives.
Rumors swirled among the student body that the incident involved a knife or even a gun. In a country where mass shootings are a near-constant occurrence and guns are the leading cause of death for kids and teens, the students knew what a lockdown meant and worried about the cause, they said.
Two posts on social media that were shared with this news organization falsely claimed there an active shooter incident at the school. The two posts were deleted by the posters, but not before others had seen them.
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Parents received text messages from their kids as the incident was unfolding. One parent told LevittownNow.com she simply received a text that said: “Lockdown not a drill i love you.”
Within minutes of the lockdown announcement, students streamed into the surrounding neighborhoods. Parents picked some kids up to head home. Some went home on their own. Others returned to the high school.
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The incident that sparked the lockdown was a student who ended up tussling with a police officer, according to officials. The reason the officer was interacting with the student wasn’t released.
The altercation took place near the West Campus’ office, according to students and staff.
Despite rumors that continued to circulate in the hours after the incident, the student did not use or brandish a weapon, according to Falls Township Chief of Police Nelson Whitney and Pennsbury School District spokesperson Jennifer Neill.
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Superintendent Dr. Thomas Smith and Principal Reggie Meadows wrote in a Tuesday evening letter to parents that the lockdown lasted five to seven minutes as the student involved in the alteration was removed from the building.
“We cannot offer specific details, but we assure you that disciplinary action will be taken in accordance with Pennsbury’s Student Code of Conduct. Additionally, the Falls Township Police Department is involved,” the administrators said.
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Students who fled the school out of concern will not be disciplined for leaving the high school campus, the administrators said.
Meadows is expected to address students Wednesday and counseling support will be available.
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Smith and Meadows acknowledged quicker updates to the school community would have been helpful.
Based on copies sent to LevittownNow.com, it took Smith and Meadows only 25 minutes after the incident to issue an email informing parents.
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“We recognize that today’s incident caused stress and anxiety for everyone – students, staff, and parents. Sharing the details of the reason for the lockdown with students and staff sooner would have alleviated a lot of unnecessary worry. This has already been discussed and will be rectified moving forward. Regardless, in today’s world, this is a real fear that we all live with. We try our best to be sensitive to that, but sometimes, safety protocols will necessitate a lockdown,” the administrators said.
“You have our commitment that we will continue to work hard to ensure that we keep our schools, students, and staff as safe as possible,” the administrators added.
Questions for school officials still remain, according to several parents.
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Below is the full text of Tuesday evening’s email:
Dear Pennsbury School Community,
We are writing to provide you with further details regarding today’s events at Pennsbury High School West.
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What happened?
At approximately 11:10 a.m., the High School West campus went into lockdown, stemming from an altercation between a student and a police officer. The lockdown lasted for approximately 5-7 minutes while the student was removed from the building. We cannot offer specific details, but we assure you that disciplinary action will be taken in accordance with Pennsbury’s Student Code of Conduct. Additionally, the Falls Township Police Department is involved. Contrary to the rumors circulating on social media, no weapons were involved in today’s incident.
Classroom instruction resumed shortly after the lockdown ended. Many of our staff discussed the events of the morning with their students. Prior to this afternoon’s dismissal, Mr. Meadows briefly addressed students and held a meeting with staff after school. No students were disciplined for leaving campus during the lockdown.
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We want to commend students, staff, and the Falls Township Police Department for their quick response today. We recognize that today’s incident caused stress and anxiety for everyone – students, staff, and parents. Sharing the details of the reason for the lockdown with students and staff sooner would have alleviated a lot of unnecessary worry. This has already been discussed and will be rectified moving forward. Regardless, in today’s world, this is a real fear that we all live with. We try our best to be sensitive to that, but sometimes, safety protocols will necessitate a lockdown.
Next Steps
Tomorrow, Principal Meadows will be addressing students to review what transpired and provide opportunities for students and staff to process what occurred. Counseling support will be available to students and staff throughout the day.
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Our Safety and security plans are ever-evolving. Today’s event emphasizes the importance of ongoing security training and constant evaluation of protocols and procedures. We are working to be proactive regarding physical safety and meet regularly with local law enforcement and emergency management officials to review and revise our safety plans and protocols as necessary. We have already begun to deconstruct what occurred today and will make any necessary changes.
We remain committed to providing our families with timely and accurate communications. Today’s initial communication was sent within minutes of the lockdown transpiring. Earlier this year, we ran a system-wide communication test to ensure families receive messages via email, text, and phone. A brief text message was sent this morning directing parents to check their email. Some families have stated they did not receive the text message. If you did not receive the text message, please complete this Google Form so we can update our records. We will run system-wide network tests every year to ensure the accuracy of message delivery.
You have our commitment that we will continue to work hard to ensure that we keep our schools, students, and staff as safe as possible. Thank you for your continued support of our schools.
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