Police and school officials are offering differing accounts about what prompted a lockdown Monday at Parkway Middle School in Lauderhill.
Officials with Broward County Public Schools said the lockdown at the campus, located at 3600 NW Fifth Court, was triggered after reports of a weapon on school grounds. However, police indicated the incident appeared to stem from an accidental activation of a safety alert.
The confusion may have also been linked to the type of weapon involved. Students told Local 10 News that the object in question was a BB gun.
Some students initially believed the situation was a drill.
“It was on lockdown for like the whole first period,” one student said.
As the day progressed, however, students said the seriousness of the situation became clearer.
According to Broward County Public Schools, a tip from both a student and a parent led to the discovery of the potential threat.
Interim Principal Ackimo Charles said in a message to parents that the school acted quickly after receiving the information.
“We received information from a student and parent about a possible weapon on campus. We immediately placed our school on lockdown and notified our School Resource Officer and security team, who safely handled the situation and confiscated the weapon,” Charles said.
Students also indicated that peers had attempted to discourage the individual from bringing the item to school.
“He told me he was going to bring it to school, but I told him not to do it, but he still went ahead,” one student said. “And one of my other friends told him not to do it.”
After police responded and secured the situation, the lockdown was lifted and normal school operations resumed.
Charles praised the actions of the student and parent who reported the concern, noting that the “see something, say something” approach helped prevent a potentially dangerous situation.
Authorities did not immediately indicate whether any disciplinary or criminal action would follow.
