DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — Students at Southwest DeKalb High School in DeKalb County were forced to hide in closets and locked classrooms after reports of a gun on campus prompted a lockdown on Friday.
The lockdown was lifted after police found no weapon on the premises.
Channel 2’s Tom Jones went to the school on Friday and spoke with parents who raced to the school when they couldn’t get answers.
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“He said active shooter. So I just took off and came up here,” said parent Shena Cobb, who rushed to the school after receiving alarming messages from her child.
When parents got there, they found the school on lockdown with police everywhere.
Students were locked in their classrooms with the lights off and some hid in a closet in the lunchroom where tables and chairs are stored.
“It was frightening because a lot of people were crying. A lot of people was saying, ‘I don’t want to die. I don’t want to die,’” said 11th grader Camille Grier.
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A school district spokesperson later clarified that there was no gun on campus and that police were called to investigate an unconfirmed report of a student with a gun. The report turned out to be false, and the lockdown was subsequently lifted.
Despite the relief that no one was harmed, some parents expressed frustration over the lack of communication from the school during the incident.
“This is ridiculous. They could have said something,” Cobb said.
No student was arrested, and police confirmed that no weapon was found on campus.
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