Wake County high school to get extra security after social media threat, lockdown

A Wake County school will get increased security this week after a social media threat led to a campus lockdown Tuesday morning.

East Wake High School on Rolesville Road in Wendell was placed under “code yellow” and “code red” lockdowns, with buildings locked and students remaining in place.

The lockdown was lifted later that morning after officials determined the threat was not credible, but deputies stayed on the scene for the rest of the day.

A code yellow lockdown indicates a possible threat in the community, while code red designates an immediate threat to the school, according to the Wake County Public School System website. Under code red, students are moved to safe locations and interior doors are locked.

Lisa Luten, a spokeswoman for WCPSS, said the lockdown began around 9:50 a.m.

The school was under a code red lockdown between 10:15 a.m. and 11:10 a.m., according to an email sent to parents that WCPSS shared with The News & Observer.

Eric Curry, a spokesman for the Wake County Sheriff’s Office, said deputies closed off all access to and from the school.

Law enforcement officials determined the threat was false, and school operations were cleared to resume as normal, Luten said.

After-school activities were canceled Tuesday to allow for an additional sweep of the school after classes ended.

Luten and Curry said they could not provide details about the threat or where the threat was posted.

East Wake High School was initially informed about the threat by a student, Luten said.

This story was originally published September 21, 2021 at 10:55 AM.