School locked down after ’gunman’ hoax
ALMOST a thousand pupils were told to remain in their classrooms with the blinds closed following a hoax report of a gunman outside their school.
Staff at Manchester Health Academy in Wythenshawe imposed a lockdown following reports of a man outside with a gun at about 9.10am yesterday.
Armed police and the police helicopter were scrambled to the scene and staff and pupils were ordered to remain in their classrooms as a search for the ‘gunman’ started.
Parents were informed of an incident and were urged to stay away.
However, about 60 parents went to the school on Moor Road.
Shortly after 11am Greater Manchester Police said in a statement that they believed the report had been a hoax although officers remained at the scene.
Following the drama, pupils were allowed to go home on a staggered basis, with year 10 and 11 students first to leave from 1.30pm.
One parent, who declined to be named, said: “My son texted me to say the helicopter was over the school.
“I texted my daughter in school and she said they were not really telling them anything except that one of her friends had said there is a man with a gun.
“I was a bit worried so I decided to come down. Obviously I wanted to check my daughter, how she was. She was very scared at first. I didn’t know if it was a terrorist attack or what. I told her to get ready to hide.”
Another parent said: “My daughter first texted me at 9.48am saying ‘the school is locked down but I’m allowed my phone, there’s a swat team outside.’ She went on to reassure me she’s ok, they said ‘I’ve got to go.’ The next contact I had was her texting me around 10.15am saying her class was being too loud and she might not be able to text any more. At around 10.30 she told me she had to close the blinds.”
Another said: “I could see from outside the school all the blinds closing at the same time, it was a scary spectacle. They just sat in the classrooms all morning with the blinds closed not knowing why. They said the teachers didn’t know what was going on either and some teachers even thought it was just a drill. I’m just happy they’re OK, thank God.”
A statement from the school said: “We were contacted by police officers who were responding to reports of an incident whereby a male they were concerned about claimed to be in the vicinity of the school.
“As a result of police advice the school went into a lockdown. The police maintained a presence on site as a precautionary measure whilst they investigated the matter. As a school, we acted swiftly on advice given and students were asked to stay in classrooms until the matter was resolved. Police have since confirmed it was safe to remove the lockdown. We would like to thank parents, carers and of course our students for their calm approach to a very unusual but difficult situation.” A spokesperson for GMP said: “At around 9.10am police received a report of what is now believed to be a hoax caller claiming that there is a man with a firearm outside of a school on Moor Road. Officers attended and it was established that there was no man with a firearm present in the area. Enquiries are ongoing.”
My daughter was very scared... I didn’t know if it was a terrorist attack or what
Parent of pupil at school