Runaway teen with rifle puts 5 schools on lockdown, officials say | Schools

CALDWELL COUNTY, NC (WBTV) - A report of a runaway juvenile with the family rifle Wednesday night forced five Caldwell County Schools to operate on a "soft" lockdown Thursday morning, officials said.

The soft lockdown lifted around 9:30 a.m. Thursday for Kings Creek K-8, South Caldwell High School, Oak Hill K-8, Lower Creek Elementary, and Hibriten High School after the runaway juvenile reportedly returned home.

According to the school system, all five schools involved in the soft lockdown are in the Kings Creek area and were alerted by law enforcement of the incident that happened in the area.

No direct threats were made to anyone or to the schools, but as a precaution, the school system put the schools under a soft lockdown, the Caldwell County Sheriff's Office said.

The runaway teen is allegedly a Hibriten High School student.

The juvenile is currently being questioned by investigators, the sheriff's office said.

A "soft" lockdown is where the exterior doors to the schools are locked, but everything inside the school operates as normal. A regular lockdown is where everyone stays put where they are.

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