Falls Church Schools Placed On Lockdown After Alarm Accidentally Trips

FALLS CHURCH, VA — City of Falls Church Police gave Meridian High School and Mary Ellen Henderson Middle School the all-clear around noon on Thursday after the schools had been placed on lockdown.

Police said the lockdown occurred after an alarm was accidentally set off at the school. "There is no emergency at Meridian High School," Falls Church Police said.

Students and staff remained in their classrooms until the police finished their sweep and gave the all-clear, according to Falls Church City Public City Schools. The alarms were then reset, and the lockdown was lifted.

At 11:23 a.m., a lockdown alarm was tripped at FCCPCS's secondary campus — the location of the high school and middle school — after an employee's badge was used to operate an elevator, Falls Church City Public City Schools said in a statement.

The city school system reviewed video and concluded that a parent volunteer unknowingly picked up an "alarm" badge from a desk. The use of the badge caused the building to be placed in automatic lockdown.

FCCPS initially thought the badge that set off the alarm was handed to a parent volunteer by a staff member. The school system said it is securing all alarm badges and reviewing badge protocols in its schools to avoid any future accidental lockdowns.

"The Falls Church City Police responded appropriately and swept both Mary Ellen Henderson Middle School and Meridian High School to confirm there was no emergency," the school system said.