Fort Worth high school put on lockdown after fireworks set off in bathroom
FORT WORTH, Texas - A brief lockdown at a Fort Worth ISD high school was caused by fireworks being set off in a bathroom, and not gunshots as originally reported.
Arlington Heights High School lockdown
What we know:
On Friday, Aug. 21, at around 8:15 a.m., Fort Worth Police responded to Arlington Heights High School after reports were made about possible gunfire inside the school.
Fort Worth PD, school resource officers, neighborhood police officers and patrol officers responded to the incident, and Arlington Heights High School was placed on lockdown.
When officers arrived at the scene, they determined that fireworks had been set off inside a bathroom in the school, and there were no gunshots fired.
The lockdown at Arlington Heights HS has been lifted, and there is no active threat at this time.
What we don't know:
Officials did not identify who set off the fireworks inside the school's bathroom.
Parents, students react
What they're saying:
"Everyone was terrified."
Jessica Castillo, whose son Maddox Chapman is a sophomore at Arlington Heights High School, lamented that students didn't have access to cell phones during the incident.
"As a parent, wrong or right, you need to have a phone because of things like this," Castillo tells FOX 4's Dionne Anglin. "We have no way of knowing as parents, especially if there is a lockdown."
Jessica Castillo
The no-cell phone policy in Fort Worth ISD is a statewide policy that prohibits students from having a cell phone in school.
Maddox Chapman says he initially thought the noises were drums before hearing the lockdown alert over the loudspeaker. He described teachers running around inside the school after the announcement.
"I was super scared for a minute, but we realized it was fireworks at the time."
What's next:
School administration is working through surveillance footage to determine which student or students set off the fireworks.
We don't know if criminal charges will be filed after the investigation is complete.
The Source: Information in this story comes from the Fort Worth Police Department, Arlington Heights High School and interviews with parents and students.