Garner Magnet High School in Garner, North Carolina, was placed on a code red lockdown on Friday after receiving a report of a student with a gun on campus. The lockdown lasted for approximately one hour before being lifted. According to the Garner Police Department, the student in question ran into the nearby woods before eventually surrendering to officers.
The school implemented the lockdown as a precautionary measure in response to the reported threat. Fortunately, no students were harmed during the incident. The cooperating student has been assisting investigators, although no weapon has been found at this time.
This week has seen an alarming number of lockdowns and emergencies at schools in central North Carolina. On Friday, Orange County Schools heightened security due to threats made on social media; however, no credible threat was discovered upon investigation.
Another incident involved social media threats directed at 40 different schools across the state. Law enforcement agencies swiftly responded by initiating investigations and Cary Elementary School was placed under lockdown temporarily. Ultimately, these threats were determined to be unfounded.
In addition to these incidents, there was an occurrence involving multiple students being injured by pepper spray at Smithfield-Selma High School. The following day saw another precautionary lockdown after reports of a gun on campus; however, no firearm was ever located.
Furthermore, Holton Career and Resource Center witnessed a student being charged with bringing a firearm onto campus earlier this week.
Lastly, Sanderson High School experienced an incident where a student brought what appeared to be “a potential firearm” onto their bus and displayed it to fellow students on Monday.
These recent events have raised concerns about school safety within central North Carolina communities.
