ROANOKE, Va. – The Roanoke City Public School system was plagued with another day of multiple school threats.
Lucy Addison Middle School was placed under a hold and secure status on Thursday.
Then, school officials told 10 News a bomb threat was made against James Madison Middle School.
This comes just one day after both William Fleming and Patrick Henry high schools were placed on lockdown. A 14-year-old was charged with a felony in connection with the lockdown at William Fleming.
Police said they found all four of these threats were found not to be credible, but parents are still stressed and concerned about these incidents.
“You worry that eventually one of these times, it’s going to be serious and one of these kids are not going to be playing and they’re really going to do something,” said Bobbi Austin, who is the mother of both a Lucy Addison and a William Fleming student.
Parents rushed to the schools when they heard the news of these threats, like Penny Perdue, who has grandchildren who attend William Fleming.
“Release the kids. When something like this go. They need to release the kids after they check them,” Perdue said.
Lucy Addison Middle School’s protocol of “hold and secure” allowed the students to move inside of the building, whereas a “lockdown” restricts movement inside the school, and all classrooms turn off their lights, according to the RCPS website.
“It’s getting real ridiculous. It’s rough on the parents. You don’t even want to send them to school. You want to pull them out of school and just keep them home, but you can’t do that,” said Austin.
In response to the threats, school officials and law enforcement released a video message to parents and students. You can watch that full video here.