Instagram photo that led to lock down at Wichita school not taken on campus, cops say
A photo of a gun posted on Instagram that prompted a lock down at Hadley Middle School on Thursday was not taken on campus, Wichita police say.
Students at the school noticed the post, which showed someone holding a gun in what appears to be a bathroom, on Thursday morning and reported it to a teacher, Officer Trevor Macy said in a news release. The teacher called 911.
Wichita police responded to the report of a possible threat at the school shortly before 9 a.m.
But following an investigation, Macy said Thursday afternoon that the photo wasn’t taken at the school.
Authorities are still looking into the threats, including who made them, he said.
Thursday morning, while the lock down was ongoing, Wichita public schools spokeswoman Susan Arensman told The Eagle that the post was “vague” and “included Hadley in the screen name, but nothing mentioning Wichita” specifically.
She said the school itself had “not received any threats” but was locked down as a precaution while police investigated.
When asked for specifics about the post, Arensman said the district was “not sharing the content of the post because it is part of WPD’s investigation.” She said the district had emailed parents to let them know what was happening at their children’s school.
The email, provided to The Eagle by the district, told parents the school was locked down “out of an abundance of caution to keep students and staff safe.”
“Parents, your students are safe in class and they are learning. We encourage you not to come to the school to pick up your children,” it says. Several went to the school anyway, according to emergency scanner traffic.
This story was originally published October 7, 2021 at 4:09 PM.
