Niagara-Wheatfield false alarm triggers police, EMS response

Officials are still trying to figure out what exactly triggered the false alarm in both the middle school and high school
Niagara-Wheatfield High School lockdown
Sanborn, N.Y. - Niagara-Wheatfield High School and Edward Town Middle School went into lockdown early Monday, Sept. 16, 2024 after their lockdown security system was accidently triggered. Photo credit Zach Penque - WBEN

Sanborn, N.Y. (WBEN) - Niagara-Wheatfield High School and Edward Town Middle School went into lockdown early Monday morning after their lockdown security system was accidently triggered.

School Superintendent Daniel Ljiljanich confirmed there was no threat made, and was most likely accidentally triggered by a teacher. However, the school district is still determining the exact cause.

"Once it's tripped, a call goes to 9-1-1, and it says lockdown on it. Once that happens, the response happens," Ljiljanich stated. "Nobody was ever in a threatening situation. There was no weapons. There was no situation in our school today, except for the fact that something with our system was tripped. It's unbelievable – the group, some of them standing behind me, the way that they respond to events like this in our school district. It's absolutely amazing. And we're really happy that today, this wasn't a real event, but their response is absolutely incredible.

"This was an opportunity for us to test the system, not the way we want to, but the law enforcement, EMS – they were incredible today."

Students were not allowed to re-enter their classrooms until police were able to clear every room in both schools. Many of them waited across the street and waited for their parents to pick them up.

Featured Image Photo Credit: Zach Penque - WBEN