Oakley Elementary locks down after an unidentified man makes verbal threat to students

Press Release

From Buncombe County Schools:

Thursday, November 14, 2013…..At approximately 12:20pm today, several students on the playground at Oakley Elementary told their teacher that a man driving by made a verbal threat to them. One student thought the man might have had a weapon. The school went into lockdown and Asheville Police Department arrived very quickly, working with school staff to make sure everyone was safe and accounted for. Police interviewed the students who saw the man, and began conducting a thorough investigation. Students and staff did an excellent job of following safe schools procedures, which they had just practiced earlier in the week.

Parents were notified by phone as soon as law enforcement determined how students would be released for the day. The phone call told parents all children were safe, but that buses might be delayed arriving home. It also provided instructions for parents intending to pick up students, including the need for them to have identification with them. Social media was also used to convey this information.

Any incident involving school children and staff causes concern. Despite the usefulness of regular drills, the silver lining of a situation like this where everyone was safe, is that it provides an excellent opportunity for both school and law enforcement to put safe school procedures to the test in a real world setting.