Hopewell students return to school after a traumatizing hoax threat
Hopewell Township (KDKA) - Students returned to their classrooms in the Hopewell Area School District a day after receiving one of the many hoax school threats.
All schools in the school district operated on a two-hour delay on Thursday and there are now multiple law enforcement vehicles on district property.
Students in the district were traumatized on Wednesday when they thought there was an active shooter. Some parents thought it was best for their kids to go back to school, while others decided to keep them home to give them time to recover.
The morning felt different for Michael Sourwine as he handed his children off to the teachers and staff in the Hopewell Area School District.
"I think it was a little bit of a tough moment when we just said goodbye at the junior high," Sourwine said.
Just the day before, students were scared for their lives after Aliquippa police received a call that there was an active shooter in Hopewell High School. All schools in the school district went on lockdown. Law enforcement determined the threat was not real.
Sourwine has one child in elementary school and two kids in the junior high. He said one of his children barricaded in his classroom.
"A lot of waiting, a lot of anxiety, my oldest said that they barricaded their door like he talked about all the filing cabinets and tables they put up in front of the doors to try to keep it closed and keep any intruders out," Sourwine said.
Parents have been hugging their kids a little tighter after learning the threat was fake; but they'll never forget the fear they felt.
"It's a call you don't want to have as a parent," said Derek Merendo.
"It's that moment of recognizing that hell is now your situation," Sourwine said.
He said he felt hopeless and helpless.
"Just completely helpless. I kept looking at my phone, begging it for information," he added.
Sourwine appreciates law enforcement and everyone in the school district. He told his kids to thank them for what they did for them and use the rest of the week to be with the community and support others who experienced the same trauma.
"I just can't help but think that our story turned out lucky all though it was traumatic in the middle, and we'll carry those scars I think for a while, but this happens every day in our world, if not every day, way too frequently… This can't keep happening, we can't keep having whether it be hoaxes or real legit shootings going on, this is just an embarrassment of our country and embarrassment of we as people," Sourwine said.
KDKA has reached out to the superintendent to see if security plans have changed or if counseling is available.