Chaos ensues at Houston school amid threats; multiple districts on alert
HARRIS COUNTY, Texas - A frantic scene unfolded at Sharpstown International School on Friday afternoon after police received a tip about a student potentially armed with a gun.
Around 12:30 p.m., authorities acted swiftly to place the school and two nearby campuses on lockdown, causing a wave of panic among parents trying to retrieve their children.
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Caedan Griffin, an eighth grader at Sharpstown, described the chaos. "Other kids were running out of the school. I was like, crazy...running out?!" said Griffin. "I was just hoping to see another day. I just want to make it to another day."
The lockdown prompted a flurry of activity as parents rushed to the school, with some reporting they had not received any notifications from the school, while others did.
"I was very, very scared. We just recently had a school shooting, and I was very nervous," said Chandra Harris, who spoke to FOX 26 after picking up her daughter from campus.
Photo posted on social media with online threat of school shooting in Channelview ISD (Courtesy of Harris County Precinct 3 Constable Sherman Eagleton)
HISD police conducted a thorough search of the premises and found no weapons or credible threats. An adult was detained during the investigation.
Darren McCall, Commander of the HISD Police Department, reassured the community: "We want to reinsure the parents that their kids are safe, and when school will resume on Monday, we'll have extra patrols out here to ensure that the staff and students are safe."
This incident is part of a troubling trend. This week alone, similar threats and subsequent lockdowns have impacted schools across Klein, Houston, and Channelview ISDs. In one notable case, a Channelview student was arrested and charged with a felony.
Data from TDR, a technology company specializing in school safety and threat prevention, highlights a sharp increase in fake threats following recent high-profile school shootings, including the deadly shooting in Winder, Georgia.
"We have seen a very high number of these threats this week," said TDR CEO Don Beeler on the surge. "They are hitting all over the U.S."
According to TDR, over 100 arrests have been made in the U.S. in the past week alone, involving students who believed they could evade detection through anonymous or fake social media accounts.
Craig Straw, HISD’s Director of Safety and Emergency Management, emphasized the seriousness of such threats: "What you're going to find now, if you make those kinds of tips, current technology, you will be found, you will be dealt with through the criminal justice system according to the threat that you make. That is not something that is acceptable."
The economic impact of these threats is significant. TDR reports that fake threats can cost American school districts up to $500 million annually due to lost instructional time, not including the expenses related to law enforcement and emergency responders.