UPDATE: School has been checked by police and the All Clear given at 3:45 p.m. Lockdown Lifted.
DELMAR—Bethlehem Central High School was placed in a lockout and shelter-in-place on Tuesday afternoon, Oct. 15, following a phone threat made to the school.
The district confirmed the safety of all students and staff shortly after the threat was received at 3:12 p.m.
In a message to families, the Bethlehem Central School District explained that police are conducting a sweep of the high school.
“The lockout secures the outer doors so only approved individuals are allowed to come into the school while the sweep of the school is ongoing. The shelter-in-place allows personnel to conduct the sweep more efficiently,” the district wrote.
The high school is the only building impacted by the lockout. Updates will be provided as they become available, the district said.
This is the second phone threat targeting the high school in just over a week. On Friday, Oct. 4, a similar threat prompted the district to increase security at the school’s homecoming football game that evening. Local law enforcement later determined the threat was not credible, but precautions were taken to ensure the safety of students, staff, and visitors.
Bethlehem Central High School, located in Delmar, has worked closely with local police following these incidents to ensure campus safety. Tuesday’s phone threat comes at a time when schools across the nation are dealing with an increase in safety concerns, leading to heightened caution in responses to such threats.
As of late Tuesday, police had yet to release any additional information regarding the origin of the latest phone threat.
