Quick Read
- Sprayberry High School in Marietta, Georgia, went into a Code Red lockdown on Thursday.
- The lockdown followed a 911 call reporting a student with a weapon in a backpack.
- Cobb County Police responded but found no evidence to support the claim.
- The lockdown was lifted, and the incident is now being investigated as a suspected hoax 911 call.
- The Cobb County School District praised law enforcement’s swift response.
MARIETTA (Azat TV) – Sprayberry High School in Marietta, Georgia, was placed under a Code Red lockdown on Thursday after a 911 call reported a student potentially possessing a weapon. The lockdown, initiated out of an abundance of caution, was later lifted as Cobb County Police found no evidence to substantiate the claim, and the incident is now being investigated as a suspected hoax.
The Cobb County School District confirmed the Code Red protocols were enacted swiftly following the emergency call. Parents were notified of the situation, which triggered an immediate response from local law enforcement to ensure the safety of all students and staff on campus.
Rapid Response to Sprayberry High Alert
Upon receiving the report of a weapon in a student’s backpack, Cobb County Police officers were dispatched to Sprayberry High School without delay. The school district communicated to parents that safety protocols were followed rigorously, ensuring that students remained secured while police conducted a thorough search of the premises.
Aerial footage from 11Alive SkyTracker showed the scene around 12:30 p.m. local time, indicating that the initial heightened alert had subsided, with some students observed leaving the campus with parents or moving around normally after the lockdown was lifted. This visual confirmation underscored the return to a more typical school environment following the police’s immediate intervention.
Investigation into Suspected Hoax Call
The extensive search conducted by Cobb County Police yielded no evidence of a firearm or any other weapon on the Sprayberry High School campus. Following this finding, the Cobb County School District announced that the Code Red lockdown was lifted and that authorities were treating the original 911 call as a potential hoax. Cobb County Police stated that officers “have not located any evidence to support the claim” made in the report.
School officials expressed their gratitude for the rapid and comprehensive response from their law enforcement partners. Such incidents, even when based on false alarms, highlight the critical importance of robust safety procedures and quick coordination between school districts and police departments to protect educational environments.
Ensuring School Safety in Cobb County
The incident at Sprayberry High School underscores the ongoing challenges faced by educational institutions in maintaining secure environments while responding to potential threats. While this particular event appears to have been a false alarm, the district’s swift action and the police’s thorough investigation demonstrate a commitment to student and staff safety.
Authorities have not yet released details regarding the origin of the suspected hoax 911 call, but investigations are ongoing. School districts across the nation frequently review and update their emergency response plans to address various scenarios, including false alarms that can cause significant disruption and anxiety within the school community.
The rapid de-escalation of the situation at Sprayberry High, from a Code Red lockdown to the identification of a suspected hoax, exemplifies the dual challenge for school administrators: to react decisively to potential threats while simultaneously managing the broader implications of false alarms on school operations and community trust.