Emergency vehicles remained at Valparaiso High School hours after an early dismissal in the wake of what was apparently a threat against the school called in by phone at 8:35 a.m. on Monday.
The Valparaiso Police Department received notice by phone of a potential threat that was to be carried out at the high school, according to a joint statement from the police and the Valparaiso Community School Corporation.
The threat indicated an explosive device had been placed in a specific location within the school. The school was placed in a “lockdown” status while members of the police department, Porter County Sheriff’s Office, Valparaiso Fire Department and Valparaiso Community Schools worked in conjunction to ensure safety and investigate the threat.
Students said they remained calm, though anxious, in their darkened classrooms with their teachers while Jim McCall, superintendent of the schools, lauded the response of teachers and students, as well as first responders, and the crisis training that prepared them for the scenario.
Senior Audrey Barriball was in her second hour class when VHS Principal Veronica Tobon, announced the lockout, and then the lockdown.
“I was in class with a lot of my friends, so that made it a little better, but it was still scary sitting in the dark. We could hear some stomping in the hallway,” said Barriball. “We all tried to keep our phones on low brightness and on silent.”
The police investigation determined the threat was not credible and building occupants were not in any danger and the schools and emergency responders followed all protocols and worked collaboratively, according to the joint statement.
Valparaiso police continue to investigate the incident, working in coordination with the schools to identify those responsible.
Valparaiso police released a statement on social media at approximately 9:30 a.m. indicating that the high school was on lockdown: “The means that all students are inside their classrooms and the perimeter of the school is secured.”
Later, at approximately 10:20 a.m., VPD released an additional statement: “The Porter County Sheriff’s Department, Valparaiso Police Department and Valparaiso Fire Department indicated there is no immediate threat to student or staff safety. However, given the level of disruption for students and staff, VHS students will be dismissed from school at or around 10:45 a.m.”
Senior Gabriela Marcos was in culinary class when, at first, the lockout was announced.
“We all kind of thought it was a drill and brushed it off. A few minutes later the lockdown was announced, and we caught on that it was actually happening,” said Marcos. “Lockdown felt like a really long time and a lot people were very anxious and nervous, some people were very curled up and some were very jittery.”
“My teacher was curled up with us, but she was very calm and relaxed and gave us a good sense of grounding,” said Marcos.
Valparaiso police released a post on social media at 1:30 p.m. stating that the threat was not credible and that building occupants were not in any danger.
“All of our schools run through these different emergency scenarios, including lockdown, and in addition the other administration and emergency personnel engage in table top exercises. I think today’s events showed that when those protocols need to be deployed they can be done so effectively,” McCall said.
“We had an excellent response, truly, from our teachers and our students in addition to the agencies who helped today,” he added.
Some extracurricular activities resumed on Monday but were not required or mandatory.
Deena Lawley-Dixon is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
