WHITEHALL, Ohio — A prank call about a gun at school led to mass panic at Whitehall-Yearling High School Thursday morning. This came just three days into the new school year.
"That's like one of our worst nightmares to get that call of your child at school telling you something tragic is going on,” Chenese Simmons, a parent of a senior at WYHS, said.
Simmons said it was a traumatic and emotional day for many families in the Whitehall-Yearling High School community on Thursday. The school received what police later identified as a prank phone call stating there was a gun in the school, leading administrators to make the decision to go into a level three lockdown.
Simmons said she received a frantic call from her son just before 11:30 a.m.
"He said they said run and don't stop running until you get home,” Simmons said.
As Simmons jumped in her car and rushed to get to her son, she saw in the streets what could only be described as chaos.
"There were hundreds of kids running through the neighborhood, running through yards screaming, looking for people, on their phones, it was pure chaos,” Simmons said.
Whitehall superintendent Dr. Sharee Wells explained why students were allowed to leave.
"Any time there's a level 3 [lockdown], the safest options are to run, hide, or fight. And with that, our staff did tell students at this situation its an active shooter, that's what they believed, and so they told students if they had to, that they can run to their safest place… so some of our students were evacuated and chose to run home,” Wells said.
As the day went on, conversations about the incident began spiraling on social media.
"There have been neighbors on there that said they had students knocking on their doors begging to come in, there's a gentleman who said he called 911 as he had about 20 students hiding in his garage,” Simmons said.
Meanwhile, those who didn’t run remained barricaded in classrooms.
Wells said the school teachers and staff went through an active shooter training just last week with Whitehall Police. But, some students claimed their teachers were frantic during the lockdown, and stated they were not trained for this.
"I was told that some staff were saying that they were not quite sure what to do even though they had the training, yes… It says that we have work to do,” Wells said.
A second incident as some students went running also sent the community into panic, as many people claimed to hear gunshots near the football field. Whitehall police said no shots were fired, and the sound came from a car muffler backfiring while someone was doing auto work.
Simmons said it was an emotional reunion once she finally found her son.
"That is probably the most scared I have ever seen him,” Simmons said.
Now, Simmons said parents are demanding answers and explanations.
Ultimately, Wells said she believes the level three lockdown was the appropriate call to make.
"For me, its troublesome but I'm also again very proud of how we responded, I think its better to always air on the side of caution and do what is right in terms of safety,” Wells said.
The district said there will be a two-hour delay Friday morning for Whitehall-Yearling High School, and during that time counselors will be made available to the high school to any students, teachers, or families who may need one. Wells said administrators plan to debrief on what happened during that time.
Two townhall meetings are also scheduled for Friday with Wells and Whitehall Police. They will be held at 9 a.m. and 4 p.m.