NORTHUMBERLAND - Safety protocol was put into action Thursday after the Shikellamy School District was locked down on threats made against Priestley Elementary School.
All exterior and classroom doors were locked in each of the five district buildings - four elementary schools and the middle/high school, district Superintendent Patrick Kelley said Thursday.
Lights were turned off inside classrooms and students were gathered in an area away from doors and windows.
That's where they were to remain until all was clear, he said.
The lockdown came after police said Jeremy Church, 37, of Middleburg, allegedly threatened by telephone to retrieve his daughter from Priestley Elementary and execute a school shooting.
The report was called in by Church's ex-girlfriend, Valerie Eisenhuth, who told police Church and her were arguing over custody of their daughter when he threatened to murder her, then go to the school.
Police officers secured the scene and Church never made it to the school. He turned himself in to law enforcement roughly one hour after the incident was reported to 911 about 11:20 a.m.
No students, faculty or staff were harmed, and there appears no immediate threat existed.
Parents alerted
"We practice and work with students in regards to these safety plans. If it's a drill, it's reinforced with the students that someday it could happen. If it does occur like it did today, the teachers talk to the students with regard to what happened and why it happened," Kelley said, adding that a school psychologist works in the district.
An Alert Now message was sent to district parents after the lockdown had ended. Many parents of the 452 students at Priestley Elementary signed their children out of school after the incident occurred. "And that's OK," Kelley said.
The superintendent estimated there are 32 teachers and staff who work at the Priestley building. He learned of the incident after receiving a phone call from school Principal Dixie Barth.
'Images' of Sandy Hook
The threats come six days after 20 school children were among 26 people murdered inside Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. The gunman, Adam Lanza, first killed his mother inside her home and then drove her car to Sandy Hook to carry out the murders. It ended after he took his own life.
"The images flash through your mind," Kelley said of the Newtown incident. "You have to follow through with protocol and the way things are supposed to be done.
"We were very fortunate," he continued. "The law enforcement response was almost instantaneous."
District administrators already planned to meet with law enforcement after the holiday break to review safety protocol. Kelley said some notes were made in review of Thursday's district response, but he was pleased with how the safety plan was put into action.
The students are expected to return to school today.