Unfounded gun threat makes for tense moments at Raleigh middle school

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- Tense moments played out at Ligon Magnet Middle School on Monday afternoon. A call of an active shooter turned out to be a false alarm. The chaos still brought panic to parents and fear to those nearby.

Diana Powell's family lives across from the school. Powell said she got a call from her goddaughter and rushed over. She described what her goddaughter heard

"She said, 'I don't know what's happening. I heard one siren. I heard another, and it just kept coming and coming and coming,'" Powell said.

Not many answers were made available as police rushed to the middle school.

"My thing is the community needs to be made aware of the climate that we're living in today. It's very serious to everyone, remain safe," Powell said.

Parents picking up their children described confusion and uncertainty about what was happening on and around campus.

Ligon Middle School sent out a message to parents, alerting them to the police's presence and the school's code red lockdown.

The school stated there was a false report of a weapon near Ligon. Students walking toward Chavis Park reported they saw a gun. A parent called 911. After investigating, Raleigh Police didn't find any evidence of a shooting.

"I can only imagine what the kids are thinking right now because this could be traumatizing for them. How do they process this? Is anyone protecting them? What is the conversation when they get home?" Powell asked.

It's a conversation many Wake County Parents are having with their children.

Just last week, a loaded gun was found at Millbrook High School, prompting a lockdown there.

Earlier this year, students at Ligon Middle School were evacuated because of a potential threat. In that case, the threats turned out to be unfounded.

"Definitely really sad, especially with the environment of today, where there's another kind of hardship," said Stephanie Pascale.

She lives across the street from the school. She was home for the January school evacuation.

"I think this is one of the really sad things, is that we have to really protect our kids and our communities," she said.

A WCPSS spokesperson said, "While we always encourage students to report matters of concern to a trusted adult, we also need to stress the importance of not spreading false rumors," the message to parents said, in part. "This can cause unnecessary panic and fear among our students, staff, and the surrounding community. We are grateful for the rapid response of local law enforcement and WCPSS Security."

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