'Star Wars Day' Darth Vader Costume Prompts School Evacuation

ASHWAUBENON, WI — "May the Fourth be With You" may have started as a pun, but it has become a full-fledged Star Wars holiday.

For a school district near the Green Bay, Wisconsin, area, one student's Star Wars costume that he wore to school Thursday prompted a police call and quickly mushroomed into a school-wide evacuation.

"There was no actual threat at the high school," says a tweet from Ashwaubenon Public Safety. "A student came to school wearing a Star Wars costume with a mask."

While the sight of Darth Vader, clad in all-black with a full length cape and shiny black helmet, cast fear in the hearts of the Rebels in the fictional series, even the costumed version scared the heck out of a local parent in real life.

According to a FOX 11 report, as students were walking into Ashwaubenon High School, a concerned parent called police after seeing a person walking into school wearing dark clothes and carrying a bag. The parent reportedly thought the person may have been wearing a bulletproof vest or a flak jacket.

The Ashwaubenon School District released the following statement:

"This morning, we had a possible threat at Ashwaubenon High School.

Ashwaubenon Public Safety was called and we evacuated the High School.

Parkview Middle School and the Community Center, where some students were taking an AP test, were put into lockdown.

Public Safety did a sweep through the High School. The situation has been resolved - there was no threat.

High School students are returning tho the High School, and Parkview and the Community Center are no longer in lockdown.

Thanks for your understanding as we maintaining our number one priority of keeping students safe."

According to the FOX11 report, the Ashwaubenon High School Principal Brian Nelsen said that "the student made a mistake" and would reinforce the school's "no costumes" policy.

May the Fourth be with you, Ashwaubenon!

image via pixabay public domain images