A hoax 911 shooting call shut down Wake schools. Students will face criminal charges.
Wakefield High School officials say students whose hoax 911 call about a shooting on campus Thursday will face criminal charges and disciplinary action.
Wakefield High, Wakefield Middle and Wakefield Elementary schools, which all share the same campus, were put on a code red lockdown Thursday morning after a 911 caller said he heard gunshots at the school and saw people who had been shot.
Raleigh police officers were dispatched to the campus, and students were frantically contacting their parents as they hid in fear.
But Raleigh police determined the call was false and that no shots had been fired. In a message Thursday night to families, Wakefield High Principal Malik Bazzell said an investigation determined that students were responsible for the call, which he said was meant “to disrupt our campus.”
“Federal student privacy laws prohibit us from sharing specific information about students, but you can be assured that appropriate disciplinary action in accordance with our district policy is being taken in this matter,” Bazzell said in the message. “While each situation is looked at individually, disciplinary action can include long-term suspension from school. In addition, criminal charges will be filed.”
On the 911 call, the caller told the dispatcher that there was a shooting at the Wakefield High football field and that the caller was scared. The caller repeatedly says, “He’s shooting” and “They’re shooting” in a breathless voice and “Some dude is laying on the ground, he’s not moving.”
Threats have soared since the mass school shooting in Parkland, Fla., in February 2018. Several Wake schools have been put on lockdown due to the hoax threats.
At an August 2018 news conference, the FBI, Wake County law enforcement agencies and school officials warned that people who make hoax threats against schools will be arrested and prosecuted.
This story was originally published December 5, 2019 at 8:32 PM.
