Caller Threatened Shooting At CB East, Prompting Lockdown

BUCKINGHAM TOWNSHIP, PA — Central Bucks East High School has been deemed safe following a threat early Friday afternoon to "carry out a shooting at the school."

The high school and the neighboring Holicong Middle School were locked down around 1:45 p.m. while police cleared the high school building of any threat.

According to Buckingham Township Police, the threat was received via a phone call to the school nurse's office. The caller, whose voice was distorted, threatened a shooting at the school and requested a ransom.

The assigned school resource officer was already on the scene, working with school officials, when police arrived. The school was immediately placed on lockdown

Officers from Newtown Township, Solebury Township, Doylestown Township, Plumstead Township, Warwick Township and the Central Bucks Regional Police Department responded to the scene to assist Buckingham officers.

Police quickly determined there was no active threat on the campus and gave the district the okay to lift the lockdown at 2:10 p.m. Students were dismissed at the normal time and police remained on-site during dismissal.

Detectives from the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office are on site investigating the call and will prosecute anyone found responsible for the incident, Acting Superintendent Dr. Jim Scanlon said in a statement released to the community.

Scanlon thanked the first responders, staff and students "for their cooperation and support during a very stressful afternoon. We are extremely grateful to the Buckingham, Solebury, Central Bucks Regional, Doylestown, Newtown, Plumstead and Warwick police departments, along with all the surrounding police departments who support our schools, for their very quick response.

"Unfortunately, threatening phone calls like this, known as 'swatting' incidents, are common across our country at this time," said Scanlon. "We followed our procedures for an incident like this, and again, we are grateful to everyone who responded, and remained calm under pressure, including our staff."

Scanlon added, "If your child would like to speak with a school counselor to help process the concerns that an incident like this causes, please reach out to a counselor or school administrators."