Threat Against Westfield High School Prompts Lockdown Tuesday: Police

WESTFIELD, NJ — A threat was made against Westfield High School Tuesday morning, prompting an emergency lockdown, according to a message from the Principal Mary Asfendis.

The principal sent a message to the school community at around 11:15 a.m., explaining that the school was put under a "short lockdown," which has now been lifted.

"As you can imagine, we take every threat extremely seriously and we reported it to the Westfield Police Department immediately," Asfendis said in a statement. "The quick response of the police allowed them to investigate and address the situation immediately."

The high school has fully resumed its normal activities and the Asfendis said "there is no threat to students or staff."

Update from Westfield Police

Police said they were alerted at around 10:31 a.m. on Tuesday about a threat directed towards Westfield High School. As a result of that threat, a police response to the school was immediately initiated.

Police said the initial lockdown was then shifted to a “shelter in place,” with all outside activities and open campus lunch privileges suspended.

“While our investigation is actively on-going at this time, I am satisfied that this threat poses no further risk to anyone and normal activities at Westfield High School have since resumed,” stated Westfield Police Chief Christopher Battiloro..

“The Westfield Police Department takes all threat of violence directed towards our schools extremely serious, and the safety and security of our children shall always be our foremost priority. We will always take immediate and decisive action to ensure their well-being.”

“I thank the students and staff at Westfield High School for the professional manner in which they conducted themselves while the Westfield Police Department sought to ensure their safety,” he added.

This story will be updated as needed.