Threat at Pickerington schools affects student dismissal; juvenile arrested
PICKERINGTON, Ohio (WCMH) - A situation on Tuesday prompted lockdowns at two Pickerington schools, according to the area school district, and resulted in the arrest of a juvenile suspect.Pic
While a spokesperson for the district couldn't share details on what happened, they did say the incident involved an "external threat" near Pickerington High School North and Lakeview Junior High, prompting them to go on lockdown around 1:15 p.m. Since the threat came from outside the school buildings, the district added that law enforcement was at both schools and that staff and students were never in danger.
Pickerington Schools asked parents not to come to either school to pick their students up. It later shared around 5:30 p.m. that staff cleared the lockdowns around 3:05 p.m. and began dismissing students by bus on a staggered schedule. This delay resulted in it affecting other schools' dismissals as well.
According to the Fairfield County Sheriff's Office, deputies were alerted at approximately 1 p.m. of a thread to Lakeview via social media.
The sheriff's office said a juvenile suspect was taken into custody at another location in Fairfield County.
Parents were allowed to pick up their students at the end of the school day at the following other schools in the district, but needed to show a photo ID to do so:
- Harmon Middle School
- Toll Gate Middle School
- Fairfield Elementary
- Toll Gate Elementary
- Tussing Elementary
- Violet Elementary
The district added that it canceled all extracurricular activities for Tuesday evening at both of the schools affected by the threat. Police stayed at the scene and asked to keep the campus clear for the night as they investigated further.
Pickerington Schools said it would provide additional updates on the situation as they become available.