NEW BRITAIN, Conn. — Students and staff at Vance Elementary School in New Britain were forced to shelter in place for some time Monday morning, after the school received a phone call claiming an armed person was in the building. New Britain police were called immediately and the school was placed into lockdown.
The threat was called into the school's main office at 11 a.m.
“We got a message, and we just dropped everything and came running to the school,” said parent Holly Norwick.
Parent Tanya Diaz added, “It’s like a feeling where your heart is going to come out of your chest. Not knowing what’s happening at that moment. Is my child safe? Did they target my child’s classroom?”
Police ran to surround the elementary school with their guns drawn.
Parents quickly caught word of the incident and descended on the school, standing in clumps of crowds on the sidewalk, still not knowing if their children and grandchildren were safe.
“Texas, Columbine. All these schools. It shouldn’t be happening. We were safe at school. I didn’t even have to do bomb shelter drills. This is crazy for all our kids to have to go through this,” grandparent Brenda Caron said.
New Britain police did their best to calm the crowds.
Officers were overheard telling them, “everything is good inside,” and “We’re all Moms and Dads too. So, I understand.”
A thorough search of the building and grounds found no intruder, no weapon, and no threat, according to school leaders.
“I can breathe again. I can breathe again,” Norwick said.
School leaders came outside and created lines for kids to be dismissed early by grade and one by one families were reunited again.
A first grader said, “We were having a big lockdown, and it was so scary. Ms. M just told us to stay in the corner and then the police talked to us and said is everybody okay and we said yes.”
From social media threats to swatting incidents like this, parents said it’s a world they don’t recognize.
“Completely. Never imagined this would be a reality for my first grader,” Norwick said.
“Not being able to get to your child in time. Knowing that they are in there crying and screaming,” Diaz added.
"Events like today’s cause deep concerns for our entire school community," said New Britain Superintendent Dr. Tony Gasper in a statement. "The safety of our students and staff is our top priority, and I want to express my gratitude to our security team and the New Britain Police Department for their swift and professional response. They continue to take these situations with the utmost seriousness."
Gasper commended police, staff, students, and parents for their response to the situation and said that systems put in place by the district worked how they were designed to keep kids safe.
His statement continued: "we must acknowledge the toll that these repeated incidents are having on our students, staff, and families. The disruption of learning, coupled with the heightened anxiety caused by these incidents and lockdowns, is unacceptable. Our children deserve to feel safe and secure at school, and these incidents simply must stop.
"This is not just a challenge here in New Britain but across the United States. Our children's education and well-being are being disrupted by circumstances that should never become routine. It is imperative that we work as a community, state, and nation to address the root causes and put an end to these threats to our schools."
Vance Elementary School did not have an official early dismissal. Gasper said that they did not want to send young children home when their parents may not be there. More than 200 students were picked up voluntarily by parents and guardians. Gasper said the district was able to facilitate those dismissals within an hour.
New Britain police said they’ll be launching a full-scale investigation to determine who made that phone call. Schools will have increased police presence on Tuesday and Gasper says he does not anticipate any changes to the district's normal schedule. Vance Elementary School will also have additional mental health supports on Tuesday.
Connecticut schools have seen a slew of threats, lockdowns, closures, and increased police presence since the start of the school year. In Meriden, Waterbury, and Ansonia, threats of violence toward the school population resulted in arrests of at least four teens.
None of the threats investigated by police so far this year have been deemed credible.
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Matt Caron is a reporter at FOX61 News. He can be reached at mcaron@fox61.com. Follow him on Facebook, X and Instagram.
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