UPDATE, 4 p.m. | Lawrence School District spokesperson Jake Potter provided an update on the lockdown Thursday afternoon.
Around 11:15 a.m. Thursday, a middle school student reported something they saw on social media regarding a possible weapon on the campus. The building went on lockdown as law enforcement responded and started to search the school.
Initially, students and staff remained in their classrooms while authorities conducted a sweep of the building.
About an hour into the search, school and district officials decided to conduct a more thorough search, prompting law enforcement to clear out the building.
Students and staff were asked to leave their belongings inside of the school to allow everyone to get out of the school safely.
The incident remains under investigation.
UPDATE, 12:30 p.m. | Police believe the original threat came from SnapChat, but are still working to learn who made the threat. School officials are bringing buses to the school and working with the Lawrence School District to begin releasing students "in a safe and coordinated manner."
In the meantime, students are being moved out of the school and out to the football field.
ORIGINAL REPORT | A social media threat prompted the lockdown Thursday morning of Billy Mills Middle School in Lawrence.
The Lawrence Police Department said that officers were dispatched to the school, located at 2734 Louisiana St, after a report of a “concerning social media post involving a weapon.”
Douglas County Sheriff’s deputies and Kansas Highway Patrol troopers also responded to the school.
In an update just before noon, police said that while the school remained on lockdown, nothing concerning has yet been found.
Authorities area continuing to search the school and track down the source of the original social media threat.
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