At approximately 9:15 a.m. on March 29, the building was sent into lockdown ordered by head principal Andrew Neely and the police department. The police and building received a call about an active shooting in the building. 

An announcement from Neely directed everyone to go into immediate lockdown. Teachers were directed to lock doors, turn off lights and remember lock down protocol. Whenever any emergency occurs in the district,  parents are contacted via the information they provided through Skyward. At approximately 10:50 a.m. Paula Foreman notified families of the situation and how it had been discovered the reported active shooter situation was a hoax. 

“As soon as the lockdown was set into play, I immediately started texting my friends. My friend, we call him Cookie, was listening to the police scanner at an elementary school, so I knew what was happening beforehand. I was obviously scared,” senior Luke Yost said. 

Students were instructed to remain in lock down for approximately two hours. After the lockdown was lifted, the students were instructed to remain in a stay put procedure until instructed otherwise. 

“I was texting everyone in my family telling them I loved them. The only person I could think of was my little brother,” sophomore Addisen McDonald said. 

American history teacher Makenzie Negri is pregnant. During the lockdown, Negri attempted to keep her students calm through her own actions. 

“I was very nervous and stressed out, but I needed to keep calm so that the class remained calm during the situation. I was very glad when it was over,” Negri said. 

The Pennsylvania State Press Release informed individuals about the circumstances of the situation and deemed no known threat of an active shooter at the time.

The state police report stated, “On Wednesday March 29, 2023, PSP Hollidaysburg and Rockview stations responded to active shooter threats at local schools that have been called in by telephone. We are treating each incident with standard law enforcement protocols. However, the calls are believed to be computer generated swatting calls.” 

Though English teacher Megan Leone was without students in her room, that did not stop her from following protocols and procedures. 

“I took it [the lockdown] seriously and knew I had to go into lockdown, so I did what I had to do. It was a bit of a different situation. First I kind of swept the halls and things like that, but it was kind of just a different dynamic than it would have been if I was in a room of 27 kids,” Leone said.