Student Threatened To Bring Gun To Union County Vo-Tech

SCOTCH PLAINS, NJ — A lockdown placed at the Union County Vocational Technical School in Scotch Plains has been lifted after a student threatened to bring a gun to school on Tuesday.

"Lockdown over. All clear," said Union County spokesman Sebastian D'elia as of 11:50 a.m.

The roughly three-hour lockdown was due to a threat made on social media by a student, UCVTS Superintendent Gwen Ryan said.

At 8:30 a.m. a staff member at one of the Union County Vocational-Technical schools received information about a potential threat to West Hall, the building where the Union County Vocational-Technical High School (UCTECH) and Union County Career and Technical Institute (UCCTI) are housed, Ryan said.

This caused West Hall to be placed in lockdown and the other schools on the campus to be placed into a shelter-in-place, Union County Sheriff Peter Corvelli said.

"The student who made the comment was located and removed from the classroom within minutes. Bag and locker checks were completed and no weapon was found," said Ryan.

Officers from the Union County Sheriff's Department and Union County Police conducted a sweep of all the schools using the sheriff's K-9 unit while the student was questioned.

All schools were then placed on lockdown to allow police to fully search all areas, Ryan said.

The threat was deemed not credible, Corvelli said.

"There were no weapons, nor additional threats discovered during the investigation and facilities checks. It is important to note, that beyond the initial social media threat, at no point did law enforcement or school personnel receive additional threats," Ryan said.

The lockdown was lifted at about 11:15 a.m. and students were released to a revised schedule, which included lunch. Counseling services were also offered.

No arrests were made and it is unclear if any school disciplinary action was taken.

"While these events are particularly difficult for students, staff and parents; please be assured that the district ensured that students remained safe at all times during today's events. The district took precautionary measures and followed all protocols to provide for the safety of our school community," Ryan said. "For that, I would like to take a moment to commend our full staff for their efforts during today's events and thank them for their commitment to student safety. We are particularly grateful to both the Union County Sheriff's office and the Union County Police, as well as the officials from the Union County Police Academy for their quick and expert response."

"We as a law enforcement community are thankful for the initial reporting of the incident and also encourage individuals if they see or hear something to say something. I am also thankful for the quick response of our law enforcement partners which help keep our community safe day in and day out," Corvelli said. "Lastly, I would like to thank the parents and guardians of all students involved for having the patience and understanding during this incident and for placing your trust in us for the safe keeping of your most prized possession, your children."

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