MERCERSBURG — James Buchanan High School was put on lockdown for two hours Tuesday afternoon while police and school authorities investigated a report that someone had a weapon on campus.
According to an open letter from Acting Superintendent Ron Benedict to “TSD Families and Community,” the lockdown was triggered by a text message someone had sent to a high school student referencing a weapon in school.
“It seemed that the message sender was joking and no specific threat was made”
Acting Superintendent Ron Benedict
Joking or not, the district took no chances.
The school was immediately placed on “lockdown,” and Pennsylvania State Police was notified.
With the help of Tuscarora’s Administrative Team, the TSD School Police Officer and Pennsylvania State Police, the district traced the source of the text message to a JBHS student.
The student was taken into custody by PSP troopers.
Benedict said the student would be charged “as appropriate.”
No weapons were found, he said.
“We canceled the lockdown and continued our daily operations as normal to finish the day,” Benedict said.
Parents were informed of the lockdown and the update by automated phone calls and social media.
