Concord Police Called To Armed Gunman Hoax Call At High School: Watch

CONCORD, NH — Concord High School was placed on lockdown on Thursday after police received a hoax call about a gunman entering the school with an AR-15.

Dispatch received the threat call around 9:45 a.m. saying the man, after making the threat, hung up.

Officers and parking officials surrounded the school and blocked adjacent streets while police attempted to contact the administration for more information. Some vehicles were kept from leaving and entering the area.

Despite being vacation week for SAU 8, there were school employees in the building and some students with sports teams that were practicing. There were also contract workers in the building.

The watch commander later told officers there was only a single threat call. The caller was a man and they had a foreign accent, the commander said.

Calls went unanswered inside the building at first. Later, a principal was reached, called inside the building, and reached other employees.

The watch commander told officers similar threat calls were made in Berlin and Claremont.

Inside the school, an alert was issued that the building was being placed on lockdown.

At 10 a.m., several officers entered the school to search for a gunman. During that process, students involved in the practice and an HVAC contractor were evacuated from the building. According to scanner chatter, school officials were in a lockdown space inside the school.

At around 10:20 a.m., the lockdown was lifted after police searched the entire school and did not find a gunman. Officers cleared the scene not long after.

Around 11 a.m., Merrimack County dispatch issued an alert that multiple agencies across the state were reporting similar calls involving a man and originating from the same number.

"All of these have been deemed a hoax," the dispatcher said.

New Hampshire Patch will update this post when more information becomes available.

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