A threat from a seventh grader that turned out to be a hoax put Nimitz Middle School under lockdown for a little more than 30 minutes Friday.
The hoax was met with a swift law enforcement response in large numbers as well as dozens of parents parking up and down JBS Parkway and running toward the school prior to the news it was a hoax.
There were also two other unconnected incidents Friday, Chief Communications Officer Mike Adkins said in an email.
The student is facing a felony charge of making a false report for creating a hoax about a shooter inside the school.
Nimitz was put into lockdown after a report of someone with a gun inside the building, a news release stated. Representatives from multiple law enforcement agencies responded within minutes and set up a sweep of the building.
No evidence of a shooter nor a weapon was found.
The release detailed through information gathered during their investigation, police believe the seventh grade boy shouted the threat of someone with a gun during lunch, causing panic and the immediate call for a lockdown.
The release said the student fled from campus and was located later in the afternoon and arrested.
“Ector County ISD leaders are thankful for the support of all local law enforcement who came together in response to this emergency. Their joint effort led to the quick and safe resolution of this situation. The district is also deeply grateful to the Nimitz parents who remained calm throughout the incident, and then patiently waited to get their children after the lockdown was released,” the release said.
Nimitz has 1,338 students in grades six through eight.
Daniels said the student who made the threat has been charged with false alarm, false report, a state jail felony. He added that they have eyewitnesses and video.
During lockdown, each classroom is locked down. The doors are locked, the lights are off and students are in a corner, safely out of view, Daniels said.
“Because we just don’t know what the threat is inside, so that’s the safest place to put them until we get there and deem the area safe,” he added.
Daniels said the police have policies and procedures in place that follow the state guidelines for emergencies on school campuses.
“It’s the standard response protocol … Today, we had a hoax called by a student, which placed the campus under a lockdown,” he added.
Daniels said the district takes threats like this seriously.
“Our nation is on edge with things of this nature that are taking place. We’ve been seeing it all week with the threats that have been coming over social media being shared by parents and by students, so everybody’s on edge. The student took the advantage of the opportunity to create chaos in their school and cause a lockdown. It’s very serious,” Daniels added.
Every agency in Ector and Midland County, along with federal agencies responded, he said.
“I can’t think of one that wasn’t here. This is a great response for our community. It shows that when we have things like this, all first responders, whether they’re on duty or off duty … there are so many officers that are willing to go in here and take care of our kids,” Daniels said.
He added that you could see from the streets that there were so many officers you almost couldn’t get into the building.
Daniels said they are doing everything for the safety of the students and staff.
“We’ve got great policies and procedures in place to protect them. I know it gets frustrating when things like this happen and they’re outside waiting to get their kid,” Daniels said.
But the students are safe inside, he said.
“We will have the process in place to get them out as quickly as possible, but it does take time, so please understand that. But also, with these threats, don’t share the threats. This is the problem we’re seeing is these things are being passed around over and over and over, and we’re sending officers out, 1, 2, 3, 4 o’clock in the morning to investigate those things to ensure we’re able to have school the next day,” Daniels said.
“Stop sharing the threats. If they think it’s a real threat, send it to law enforcement,” he added. “Don’t post it on Facebook. Don’t share it on social media. Get it to us so we can find out if it’s true or not,” he added.
They can call 911, or the ECISD police at 432-456-9999.
“We have 24-hour service that answers that will get (the information) to an officer so we can do the investigation,” Daniels said.
He said they will have additional officers on campus and stationed at other campuses to ease parents’ fears.
“That’s the problem is we’ve got to pull from other areas now, even though we know it’s a hoax, everybody’s still on edge. But we want to show the public we’re still here to protect our kids.
“The kids were very appreciative as they came out, thanking us for being here, so they’re going to see us again next week, not in the numbers they saw today, but we will have additional coverage,” Daniels said.
Raquel Lopez came to pick up her granddaughter Chloe Harrell, a 13-year-old eighth grader on Friday.
Lopez heard about the incident, threw on some clothes and went to Nimitz.
“I got kind of emotional telling her mother,” Lopez said.
Then she was blocked in as Maple Avenue was blocked on both ends.
“But main thing is, everybody’s safe. Police officers did an awesome job as far as I’m concerned. They locked this place down,” Lopez said.
Harrell said she was in algebra class having a popcorn party.
“We were making our popcorn and then we hear from the intercom, this is a lockdown. This is not a drill,” Harrell said.
The students went through the lockdown procedures, all got in the corner and tried to be quiet, but they heard crying and yelling and sirens from outside.
Harrell said there was talk that this was going to happen days before.
“We were sitting in the back trying to be quiet, and then the police came in with their shields and everything. They were like, something, something, police department. … They made sure everyone was okay. They asked if anyone was hurt, and everyone said, no, sir, we’re good. And then they said, okay, everyone stay in here. And then they left to go check the other classrooms.
“Then we didn’t go back to any classes. We went straight to the cafeteria and sat in there, and they made sure everyone was here, and then everyone started to get dismissed,” Harrell said.
Adkins said two students, one a senior at the STEM Academy and the other a sixth grader at Bonham Middle School, were both arrested after stating they were going to bring a gun to school. None of the three incidents are related to each other, Adkins said.
