Car Backfire Believed To Have Caused School Lockdown
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HALTOM CITY (CBSDFW.COM) - The Birdville Elementary School in Haltom City and nearby Shannon Learning Center were both on lockdown for about an hour Tuesday morning.
Police said they initially received a report of a gun or gunfire near the school. A student had allegedly reported seeing a teenager fire a gun in the air. School administrators quickly confirmed that no shots were fired in the school and no one was injured.
It was as police continued their investigation, after the lockdown was cancelled, that a parent came forward and told police he may have caused the loud bang that was thought to be gunfire.
Birdville ISD spokesperson Mark Thomas quoted the man as saying, "My vehicle backfired at that time." Thomas said the possibility of the error makes sense. "The only thing that we can confirm at this point is we have a vehicle that backfired in the parking lot. There's no confirmation that there were any guns at all or any gunshots fired."
After receiving the call, the response by Haltom City police was immediate, with several officers sent to the school to secure the campus. Police also cordoned off a one-block area around the school.
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A number of parents returned to the school after dropping their children off just a few hours before, but they initially were not allowed near the school. Just after 9 a.m. parents were allowed on campus and were gathered in the school cafeteria. School district officials said they had to make sure their facts were correct before detailing information to parents.
No gunman or any evidence of shot being fired around the campus was ever located and classes resumes as normal. Despite the verification of a false threat, many parents still chose to take their kids home.
The flag outside Birdville Elementary is flying at half-staff in the wake of a last week's mass shooting at an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut.
