A text message about a gunman at a Texas high school sent law enforcement and parents alike into high alert Thursday afternoon.
The El Paso Police Department received a report on May 26 of a person with a gun at Bel Air High School, causing the school to go under lockdown. However, when law enforcement searched the campus, no weapon was found.
“Every classroom and every building on campus is being cleared,” Sgt. Enrique Carrillo said, according to The El Paso Times. “We have teams clearing that.”
At approximately 1:15 p.m., a text message about an armed person in or around the Texas high school began to circulate. Carrillo said the rumor “spread through text and social media like wildfire.”
“As a reminder, there has been NO CONFIRMED INCIDENT, and it all came from a text message,” a police media message said.
ABC reported that a parent staging area was set up at Santa Monica Court and Venado Drive behind the school.
Sandra Martinez, whose 16-year-old son Andy Martinez attends Bel Air, said he told her about the scare 20 minutes before the school notified her. She said she was concerned for her son’s safety during the incident.
“The cops say that there’s nobody, even the school already sent out like 15 minutes ago that they have lifted the lockdown, but the lockdown has not been lifted,” she said, according to the El Paso Times.
“One thing I do know for sure is that he’s not coming back to school,” she said. “I, honestly, I don’t know which is the last day, but a lot of people are commenting like there’s no need for them to be back. Finals are over; school is over. Projects can wait, so we’re just gonna, I’m not sending him back. Yeah, yeah. Probably not till next year.”
Many parents in line were signing their children out early. Others waited until 4 p.m., when all the remaining students were released.
Carillo said he understood the parents’ concern.
“We completely understand, and they should be concerned,” Carrillo said. “And that’s the reason for the large response, for the large law enforcement agency response. Because when some people may look at it as an overreaction, we don’t.
“We see it as prudent. We’re gonna take every call like that or any threat seriously.”