BUFFALO, N.Y. (WBEN) - Tension was high Friday morning as Buffalo Police responded to an active shooter call at Nichols High School just after 8am Friday morning.
Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia says the school was quickly placed on lockdown after police received two threat calls. One call went to the department's Seneca Street garage and the call was 'garbled' and 'dropped'. "Another call was made to our C-District station house," Gramaglia said. "Stating that he was going to 'shoot up' the school and that he had bombs and the sound of gunfire played in the background."
A massive law enforcement presence was outside the school as authorities were inside completing their check of the school with K-9 officers doing a sweep of the building. Shortly after 9am, they found no evidence of an active threat and before 10am WBEN heard on the school's public address system the message, 'Lockdown lifted'.
Gramaglia would not go into depth on what they know about the calls or caller but said a large scale investigation was underway.
Similar calls were received by at least three schools outside Erie County, including in Batavia.
Anxious parents lined Amherst Street in their vehicles as the search of the school was conducted and many were gathered in the school's parking lots as well. After the lockdown was lifted, many students were seen moving about the campus with some meeting parents to leave the campus.
As the threat unfolded, The Nichols School communicated to parents with the email pictured below.
Email sent to Nichols School families as a threat to the school was investigatedWBEN Email
