Security measures were tightened at several Wayne County schools for about 90 minutes Monday morning after a domestic violence incident raised safety concerns.
According to a press release from Deputy Police Chief Adam Blanton, Richmond Police received an anonymous call at 8:27 a.m. Monday from a man who claimed to have taken his wife hostage and was on his way to a local community school with a bomb.
Blanton said the caller provided vague information that potentially incriminated Northeastern Wayne School Corp. and Richmond Community Schools.
Wayne County Sheriff’s Deputy Alan Moore said in a news release that the caller claimed he was on his way to Northeastern to “kill everyone.”
As a precautionary measure, all local schools were immediately placed on “safe school” status while officials conducted their investigation, Blanton said.
WCSO, RPD, Richmond Community Schools and Fountain City police departments, Indiana State Police and the Wayne County Emergency Communications Center collaborated.
“After a thorough and swift response, it was determined that all information provided to Richmond Police was unsubstantiated,” Blanton said. “Officers have checked and verified all residences, schools and potential victims involved and there is no credible threat.”
Moore said the name provided by the caller did not match any student at Northeastern or surrounding schools.
RPD, WCSO detectives and the WCSO Threat Assessment Team continue to investigate. Anyone with information is asked to call 765-983-7247 or email [email protected].
Department heads assured the public that there was no active threat at 10:57 a.m.
“This type of behavior is not only reckless, it is dangerous and creates unnecessary fear and anxiety in our community,” Police Chief Kyle Weatherly said in the release. “We will not tolerate such actions and the Richmond Police Department will conduct a full investigation. If those responsible are identified, they will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
At 10:06 a.m., Richmond Community Schools officials confirmed that district-wide precautions had been lifted and staff and students would continue with their day.
Bridget Hazelbaker, RCS director of student services and communications, said these precautions began when school administrators became aware of the threat.
Officials believed Starr Elementary School was most at risk because they believed a child of the caller who made the threat attended that school.
Starr remained detained until 9:57 a.m., after which RCS announced that all students and staff were safe.
In other RCS buildings, a “classroom lockdown” status was imposed, meaning students could not go outside during recess and had to be escorted to the restrooms.
Hazelbaker said RCS regularly conducts drills for these types of alarms.
“The kids were great,” she said.
The RCS Police Department, as well as the Richmond Police Department and Wayne County Sheriff’s Office, worked together to protect the schools, Hazelbaker said.
Northeastern Wayne School Superintendent Matthew Hicks said the Knights resumed classes Monday morning but would continue to “take measures to ensure the safety of students.”
At around 9:45 a.m. on Monday, Nettle Creek Schools administrators announced that they had activated their shelter-in-place protocol as a precautionary measure in light of the evolving situation in Wayne County.
The Hagerstown Police Department said there is no immediate threat to Nettle Creek schools.
Nettle Creek officials said classes in the building would continue as usual. All students and staff will remain inside the building and exterior doors will remain locked. Classroom doors will be locked and office staff and school resource officers will monitor access to the front doors.
“Based on the police investigation, they believe the threat was a hoax or a ‘swatting’ situation at a neighboring school,” Superintendent Emily Schaeffer said on social media. “Thank you for your cooperation as the safety of staff and students remains our top priority.”
Some local private schools also took precautions, including Richmond Friends School, which lifted its lockdown at 10:21 a.m.
Updated on August 19 at 16:10 to collect information from the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office. Updated on August 19 at 11:30 am to record initial comments from the Superintendent of Northeastern Wayne. Updated on August 19 at 11:17 am to include a social media statement from Nettle Creek School Corp. Updated on August 19 at 11:10 am to include information released by the Richmond Police Department
A version of this article appears in the August 21, 2024 print edition of the Western Wayne News.
