Brief Lockdown Put Into Effect Near End Of School Day In Granby

GRANBY, CT — Students at Granby Memorial High School and Middle School were briefly held in lockdown mode near the end of the school day Tuesday due to some type of threat

Parents were issued a notification around 2 p.m. that "buses will be late" and "pickups delayed," yet urged them not to come to the schools as Granby police conducted a walkthrough of the high school campus.

Around 3:15 p.m., notification was given that the "lockdown has been lifted. No credible threat found. Dismissals and after-school activities resuming as normal."

Superintendent of Schools Cheri P. Burke issued this statement Tuesday afternoon:

"Dear Granby Community,

"We are writing to follow up on our brief and timely communications from earlier this afternoon notifying the community that Granby Memorial Middle and High School entered into a lockdown.

"This afternoon the Granby Police Department received a report that an unidentified individual was onsite at Granby Memorial High School and threatened to harm both themself and others at the school. Our Granby Police Department acted swiftly and placed the high school campus, including the middle school, in lockdown while they conducted a walkthrough of the buildings and assessed the validity of this threat. Once a lockdown is initiated based on a reported threat, the school must wait for law enforcement to deem the scene safe before lifting the lockdown.

"A thorough check of all spaces at both the high school and middle school was completed at 3:15 PM and the lockdown was lifted. Police communicated that they were confident that our campus was safe and the threat was not credible. Therefore, we resumed a normal schedule and proceeded with after-school activities. Due to the timing, dismissal was impacted and buses were not able to leave the campus until after 3:25 pm. We understand this can be frustrating because it also impacts the elementary school dismissal and causes disruptions in schedules; however, the safety of our students and staff is of the utmost concern.

"Preliminary investigation by the Granby Police, in conjunction with the FBI, indicates that multiple communities across the state received similar reports today and this was likely a “swatting” incident. Swatting is defined as a false report of an ongoing emergency or threat of violence intended to prompt an immediate tactical law enforcement response. Unfortunately, this is a common issue in communities across the country.

"Our students were very responsive during the lockdown and understood the need to shelter-in-place. Middle and high school students will have a chance to debrief this situation tomorrow morning and resources will be available for any student who may need to process this event with the help of an adult.

"We appreciate your support during this time and are grateful for the entire community, especially our Granby Police Department."