ALEXANDRIA, Va. — A threat made toward an Alexandria school prompted its evacuation on Wednesday, the Alexandria Police Department said.
A letter sent home to parents explained that Charles Barrett Elementary School went on “secure the building” status around 12:15 p.m. after a threat was called in to police.
At 12:20 p.m., the decision was made that the school should be evacuated "due to additional information received regarding a bomb threat that was in the vicinity of the school."
The Charles Barrett administration sent a letter to parents updating them on the events.
"Students were evacuated from Charles Barrett to their primary evacuation site (Parc East Apartment lobby), and ACPS staff sent buses early to the school to transport them to Cora Kelly School for Math, Science and Technology located at 3600 Commonwealth Avenue, Alexandria, VA 22305, 703-706-4420," the letter said.
The ordeal didn't end there.
After students from Charles Barrett were taken to Cora Kelly School for Math, Science, and Technology, another threat was made, this time on Cora Kelly, initiating a second locked down.
Alexandria Police ran a threat assessment to determine the credibility of the threats.
The day caused a lot of confusion and fear for parents and students alike.
“The message from [my son] was 'we are being evacuated to an apartment complex and I’m scared and I don’t know what’s going on," parent Jason Lawrence told WUSA9, after rushing from his job at Dulles Airport to pick up his child. "His teacher told me there was a lot of police and chaos and my heart sunk. Any parent’s great fear is not being able to be there immediately for their child.”
Other schools locked down
This wasn't the only incident to impact a school in the DMV on Wednesday.
A high school in Montgomery County, Maryland was placed on lockdown Wednesday morning after a person on campus was believed to have a gun.
The Montgomery County Department of Police announced just after 11 a.m. that Watkins Mill High School was placed on lockdown after receiving a report about the person possibly in possession of a firearm. It remained under lockdown for a little less than an hour while officers determined the validity of the threat.
Police informed WUSA9 that no one saw a weapon, but a threat of a weapon was made. In conclusion of the investigation, it was determined that the report was unfounded.
At 12:30 p.m., officers responded to Crossland High School in Prince George's County for the report of an armed person.
Out of abundance of caution, the school was put on lockdown. Officers arrived on scene and did not locate or recover any firearms. The lockdown was lifted.
The most recent threat came happened at around 4pm at George Washington Middle School. Alexandria Police gave the all clear a short time later.
Some Charles Barrett parents say it was handled surprisingly well.
“When I got here, everything was nice and in order. They asked for ID, name and we got him out.” Lawrence said.
Alexandria Police gave the all clear at Charles Barrett Elementary just before 3pm,
Police have not confirmed whether any of the threats are related.
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