BERKELEY – Central Regional Middle School was locked down while police investigated the threat of a school shooting.
“A note was found in the girl’s bathroom claiming there would be a shooting, thus the Berkeley Police Department was called immediately,” Superintendent Triantafillos Parlapanides said. “The police directed the school to shelter in place.”
Ultimately, no weapon was found. The shelter order was eventually lifted and students carried on with their day as best as possible.
The incident caused panic and speculation on social media. One parent posted on Facebook “My nephew’s been texting my sister saying he’s very scared. He wants to go home. There’s dogs in his classroom. They (have) been sitting in lockdown for two hours and parents are calling the school. They said they cannot be picked up and no one’s giving up any information on what’s going on. I texted (the nephew) but he didn’t get back to me.”
Police came to the school to secure the safety of the students and staff while the building was searched, Parlapanides said. Police dogs searched every room. Students and teachers were led out of each room by administration. Once the room was searched and deemed safe, they were able to return.
“Using the school cameras we were able to determine activity in and out of the bathroom today and the administration is questioning any students seen on the camera,” he said.
“I would like to thank the Berkeley Police Department for its quick and thorough response as always. I also want to thank the Ocean County Sheriff’s Department and Brick Township Police for providing an additional dog to help expedite the process and make sure our students, teachers and administration remained safe,” he said.
