In October, two Hyattsville high schools, Northwestern High School and DeMatha Catholic High School, went into separate lockdowns just a few days apart. Both lockdowns were lifted soon after they were put into place, and no students or teachers were injured. Across the country, there has been a rise in fake threats against schools, as well as a rise in “swatting,” when someone calls in a fake active shooter threat.
Northwestern went into lockdown on Oct. 14, following what Hyattsville police described in a Facebook post as “rumors of a threat of violence.” After conducting interviews and a sweep of the school, the police deemed the threat not credible. (The sweep did turn up a folding knife, which was unrelated to the threat.) The lockdown was in place from approximately 12:15 to 1:30 p.m.
Three days later, on Oct. 17, DeMatha went into lockdown from approximately 1:40 to 2:20 p.m. The police did not find any weapons on campus. As of press time, the Hyattsville police had not provided any details on what triggered the lockdown.
