Cape Henlopen schools placed on lockdown after threats
By This story is breaking news. For the full story, see Following threat calls to police, several Kent, Sussex schools go into lockdown.
LEWES — In an email Thursday morning, the Cape Henlopen School District notified parents of a threat made toward its schools that prompted a low-level lockdown.
The message, which was also sent via phone, reported that the Lewes Police Department notified the district about an individual threatening schools.
Officials in the Lake Forest, Capital, Milford and Indian River districts also confirmed that police received similar calls about their facilities.
Additionally, Trooper Raushan Rich said the Delaware State Police are "actively investigating threats made to multiple schools."
He said police were gathering information on what schools were affected but that "there have been no safety concerns identified at this time."
"DSP is actively working with the schools, as they initiate protocols to ensure the safety of all students and staff."
Trooper Rich said updates would be provided on the state police Twitter feed.
Around 10:15, Lewes Police Chief Thomas Spell said officers had responded to Cape Henlopen's schools and that "everything is fine."
He added that an investigation continues. He described the phone calls as "swatting," the action of making a prank call to emergency services in an attempt to dispatch first responders to a particular address.
The district's message, sent at 9:52, also noted that “there’s been a series of calls with the same message throughout the state to other districts and they are being investigated by law enforcement."
“At this point, it does not appear to be credible but as a precaution, we have placed our schools on a low-level lockdown and our emergency response procedures have been activated," the email continued.
“There will also be an increase in police presence at all of our schools. Please do not report to the schools at this time. We will provide further information as it becomes available and will update the community within the next two hours.”
