Note: This is a developing story and will be updated with more information as it becomes available.
According to NHCSO, law enforcement responded to a 911 call made shortly before 9 a.m. claiming there was an active shooter at New Hanover High School.
NHCSO spokesperson Lt. Jerry Brewer said officials believed it to be a "swatting call" — that's a bogus call made for the purpose of eliciting a SWAT team response. Other jurisdictions also received the same call, according to NHCSO.
Officials didn't specify what those jurisdictions are, but WRAL reports that there were similar calls in Durham and Fayetteville. In October, schools across South Carolina received similar fake calls.
Brewer said there was no evidence of gunfire and no reported injuries. NHCSO and other agencies were still working to completely clear the campus as of 10 a.m.
Parents of NHHS students say they were notified by the school district that there had been an 'active shooter' alert, but that no shots had been fired and no injuries had been reported. NHHS, Williston Middle School, and the International School at Gregory were all placed on lockdown "out of an abundance of caution," according to the New Hanover County Schools district; those lockdowns were lifted after 11 a.m.
Though law enforcement does believe the incident to have been a prank, several parents on the scene noted it was particularly distressing given the very real shooting in August 2021 at NHHS.
Related: One wounded in shooting at New Hanover High School, one suspect arrested
That incident sent one victim to the hospital and the shooter to prison, and left the school — and the community at large — shaken.
