Education

Potential threat keeps some Lancaster County students home from school

Andrew Jackson High School, one of four high schools in the Lancaster County School District, now has to AI-powered weapons detection devices. All middle and high schools in the district started using them Friday.
Andrew Jackson High School, one of four high schools in the Lancaster County School District, now has to AI-powered weapons detection devices. All middle and high schools in the district started using them Friday. Herald file

Heath Springs resident Jennifer Blackmon kept her son home from Andrew Jackson Middle School Wednesday due to a possible threat at the high school.

About mid-day Tuesday, a note was found in a male restroom at Andrew Jackson High School, said Doug Barfield, public information officer for the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Department.

“It expressed the possiblity that some violence would occur at the school this morning,” he said.

Both the Lancaster County School District and the sheriff department investigated the incident, Barfield said. The sheriff department sent extra deputies to Andrew Jackson and other area schools Wednesday as a precaution, he said.

Blackmon said she kept her son home since the middle and high schools share a campus. Blackmon said she learned of the threat to the high school through friends, not officials.

“If there was a shooting at the high school, what if loose bullets were flying around and someone at the middle school would get hit,” she said. “That’s why I kept my child home today.”

So far, no incident has occurred, Barfield said. “Everything has been okay,” he said.

Check back for updates.

This story was originally published February 22, 2017 at 1:50 PM with the headline "Potential threat keeps some Lancaster County students home from school."

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