Fort Payne City Schools were placed on lockdown for nearly three hours Monday after a caller claiming to be an armed student threatened to harm himself and other students — a threat police now believe was a hoax.
Fort Payne Police Chief David Davis said the department received a call at 10:57 a.m. from someone initially believed to be a Fort Payne High School student. The caller claimed to be armed, threatened to harm himself and then indicated he might harm other students.
That prompted police to contact Fort Payne City Schools, which placed its campuses on lockdown. With the caller’s location unknown, officers searched every school in the district as law enforcement and emergency personnel from across the area responded.
They found no threat.
“At this time, we believe it was a false alarm or hoax,” Davis said. The investigation remains ongoing.
The lockdown, which began around 10:45 a.m., was lifted for all schools just before 2 p.m.
One Fort Payne Middle School teacher, who spoke to 256 Today on condition of anonymity because she was not authorized to discuss the incident publicly, said she initially thought Monday’s lockdown message was a routine drill.
She began securing her classroom, following the procedures teachers and students had practiced — unplugging equipment, pulling down window coverings, turning off the lights, and moving students into a corner of the room. Two students helped her move a table against the door.
About five minutes in, she realized it wasn’t a drill.
The teacher estimated they were locked down for about two hours. She knew there were helicopters outside but didn’t know exactly what was happening as the minutes stretched on. She told 256 Today her students remained well-behaved throughout and followed their training.
Agencies assisting in the response included the Mentone Police Department, DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office, Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, Scottsboro Police Department, Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office, EMA, DeKalb Ambulance Service, Alabama Law Enforcement Agency and FBI Gadsden Resident Agency.
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