A false school shooting call that came from a Texas high school on Tuesday left several parents distraught and rushing to campus to pick up their kids.
Thomas Jefferson High School in San Antonio was put on lockdown on September 20, and some students made calls to their parents from the school, NBC reported. At the school, 58 police officers and 29 school district officers were on the scene.
In videos posted to Twitter, parents can be seen fighting with police officers to get into the school, Star-Telegram reported.
One parent cut his arm after sending his hand through a window in an attempt to get inside the school and can be seen in the video being wrestled to the ground by police. The injury was treated at the scene. Other parents were detained and handcuffed, NBC reported, but no one was arrested.
Pete Vela, a parent who spoke with the San Antonio Express-News, said the recent shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde had parents frantic and scared.
“I definitely got over here quick. I left work and came quick. Ultimately if there was somebody in there, then I don’t blame the parents for wanting to get in, especially after what happened in Uvalde,” he said.
Chief Johnny Reyes with the San Antonio Independent School District Police Department said that when police responded to the call, they did not find evidence of any shooting.
“Our department and San Antonio Police Department established there was no shooting, but then we had to do a methodical search room by room with our strike teams,” Reyes told NBC. “We went to the place where they said the shooting had occurred, and we were able to quickly establish that no shooting had happened.”
In a joint statement shared on the Jefferson High School Facebook page, Superintendent Dr. Jaime Aquino and Head of School Ralf Halderman stated that safety is the number one priority in situations such as these.
“We want to assure you that our unwavering priority is to keep everyone in our care safe from harm – every child and every staff member,” the statement began.
It continued, “We recognize that today was discomforting, and we want to share more information with you on the events that unfolded this afternoon. Today, a lockdown was enforced at Jefferson High School after a caller reported to the non-emergency number of the San Antonio Police Department that a shooting occurred inside a classroom.”
“Twenty-nine district officers and 58 San Antonio Police Department officers responded immediately to ensure the safety of the campus. They found no active shooting, and all staff and students were safe. There are unsubstantiated reports that a fight between students prompted the call, but this has not been confirmed by staff,” the statement explained.
Officials noted that the process the school uses for notifying parents will be reviewed, and parents will be made aware of any changes.
“Moving forward, we will review our process of parent notification and reunification procedures. We want to be as responsive as we are responsible. We will be following up very soon to share more information with all of our families on how we learned from this event and what new communication protocols we will implement,” they explained.
Aquino and Halderman stressed to parents that all appropriate police and school safety protocols were followed during the lockdown.
