PATERSON, N.J. (1010 WINS) -- Paterson schools received shelter in place orders on Thursday after a threat was called into the Paterson Police Department just two days after the third deadliest school shooting in U.S. history, according to school officials.
Protocol dictates teachers continue instruction during shelter in place orders while windows are covered and doors are locked.
Law enforcement ordered one school to shelter in place based on the threat, and two additional schools were given the order soon after.
Police have not yet announced the nature of the threat, and school officials did not say which schools were locked down.
Later in the day, as a precaution, the entire district was ordered into a soft shelter in place which allows the day to continue as normal except no one is allowed to enter or exit the building, officials said.
All shelter in place orders have since been lifted.
"Earlier today, one school was put into a shelter in place based on a threat called into the Paterson Police Department," said a spokesperson for Paterson Public Schools. "Soon after, two additional schools were put into a shelter in place. In a shelter in place, windows are covered and classroom doors are locked, but instruction and other classroom activities continue. Later in the day, as a precaution, the entire district was put into a soft shelter in place, which allows the schools to operate normally except that no one is allowed to enter or exit the school buildings. At this time, all shelter in place directives have been lifted."
On Tuesday, a gunman killed 19 children and two teachers at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas over the course of about 40 minutes as police waited outside.
The massacre has school districts and parents across the country nervous at the potential for violence and searching for answers as to how to protect children from mass shootings.
Related
Related
