A Tamaqua Area School District building was locked down Tuesday afternoon after officials there say they received a “disturbing call” that threatened students.
A message sent to parents and posted to the school’s official X account reads, “This afternoon, we received a disturbing call threatening the safety of our students at our secondary campus.
“We immediately followed protocols contacting law enforcement and securing our buildings to protect our students and staff. Areas in and around our facilities were searched and monitored. We are in restricted movement currently and will remain until all clear,” the school said, posting that message at about 1:30 p.m.
At about 2 p.m., parents of students stood outside the Tamaqua Area Middle School and High School complex. Tamaqua borough police were joined by Pennsylvania State Police to secure the perimeter of the school complex. Some State Police officers carried rifles as they patroled the area on foot. A patrol from at least one State Police helicopter was also utilized during the incident.
During that time, tense faces were commonplace among parents waiting for students to be dismissed or an update to be provided.
Adam Bush, a parent of a middle school student who walks to school, waited outside the school complex for dismissal.
“As a parent, it really gets you going,” he said, adding that he has two other students in the elementary school.
Bush said he believes Tamaqua and State Police did a good job during the situation but wished communication from the school was a little more frequent.
“The communication was a little bit lagging,” Bush said. “They did communicate and I understand you can’t communicate every five minutes, right? But I feel like they communicated pretty quickly. It would be nice if they could give a little bit more information. I understand they can’t give too much because the police have to do their job.”
Bush added, “As a parent, you are concerned. You don’t know what’s going on.
Around 3 p.m., students were dismissed from the schools. Following dismissal a State Police K-9 unit was sent into the school building.
Shortly after 5 p.m., Tamaqua Area School District Superintendent Raymond Kinder provided an update in a letter to parents. It reads:
“We received a phone call today at our high school office with a threatening message. Law enforcement was immediately notified and restricted movement was enacted for the protection of students and staff.
“The matter continued to be investigated and as a precaution, additional law enforcement arrived. Consensus opinion was to keep students in classrooms, while evaluating potential risks. Areas outside our facilities were surveyed to ensure eventual safe passage for our students and staff. A message was sent to families as soon as it could be crafted, while maintaining focus on the situation. I realize that never occurs as quickly as anyone would like it, but it occurs as soon as it can.
“The overall assessment of the threat level was mitigated. However, we determined that the best course of action was a more controlled and monitored dismissal. This involved students being dismissed more slowly with both law enforcement and administrative presence. While a difficult endeavor, overall the procedures went according to expectation.
“I am grateful for the cooperation of the students, staff and parents who allowed us to do what we needed to do for the safety of those involved. Without those efforts, this exercise would ahve been much more difficult.
“As mentioned, law enforcement has provided tremendous support with surveying equipment, a formal presence and sweeps of the building after all the students and staff exited the high school, giving us an all clear assessment. All this is done to not only ensure safety, but also reassure our community that we take protecting our children seriously. We want them to feel safe when they come to school.
“This is the information we have as of this time and will provide updates if appropriate. Please know that we will continue to be vigilant when it comes to the safety of our students and staff. Thank you for your continued support and trust with your children.”
Tamaqua Police were in command of the scene with support from State Police. No update from Tamaqua Police has been provided to the public as of this post going live. We’ll have updates as they become available.
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