Gun Threat At Southington High 'Unsubstantiated:' School Chief: UPDATE

SOUTHINGTON, CT — On a day when New England was jittery about gun violence due to what's happening in Maine, Southington High School was put on lockdown regarding a gun threat.

But Southington Superintendent of Schools Steven Madancy confirmed at 10:01 a.m. Thursday the threat was deemed to be "unsubstantiated" and SHS operations had returned to normal.

But, he said, there will be extra police patrols at district schools for the remainder of the day.

"The high school will resume normal operations with an added police presence to remain on campus for the remainder of the day," Madancy wrote via the school system's alert system.

"Additionally, there will be an added police presence at all other schools townwide for the rest of the day.

"We will continue to work with state and federal officials to investigate this matter further and, if possible, prosecute to the fullest extent."

Madancy's third alert update of the morning seemingly ended a tense start to the day for Southington schools.

According to the Southington Police Department Thursday morning, SHS received a call "a short while ago" regarding the threat of gun violence inside the school.

Police said the call originated from an out-of-state number.

As a result, the SPD has mobilized additional police officers to the school "as an added precaution."

"We are working in cooperation with the Southington Board of Education and will send an update once more information is available," wrote the SPD.

Madancy Thursday sent out multiple alerts regarding the incident, alerts showing school officials took the situation seriously.

"The Southington Police Department has deployed additional officers to the school as an added precaution and the district and police department are currently working with the appropriate state and federal agencies to assess the credibility of the threat," wrote Madancy to parents via the school district's alert system earlier in the morning.

"Additionally, there is an added police presence across the district at all schools at this time. This is precautionary only."

At 9:37 a.m., Madancy updated the community again, saying the school's alert status was upgraded from "secure school" to "lockdown."

This was because there was a report that someone entered the school through a rear door, he said, but that person turned out to be a maintenance worker.

Once the individual was identified, the lockdown was lifted, he said.

At 10:01 a.m., Madancy said the threat was unsubstantiated and classes and school operations returned to normal.

Southington Police Department spokesman Lt. Keith Egan issued a statement at 10:30 a.m. confirming the "unsubstantiated" status.

"After working with state and federal officials, it was determined that the threat this morning was unsubstantiated," wrote Egan.

"The high school will resume normal operations with an added police presence to remain on campus for the remainder of the day. Additionally, there will be an added police presence at all other schools townwide for the rest of the day.

"We will continue to work with state and federal officials to investigate this matter further and, if possible, prosecute to the fullest extent."