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There was no active shooter at Prince Edward County High on Friday. Let’s get that out of the way first. After the school went on lockdown Friday afternoon during the last class of the day, some students grew concerned and started texting parents, worried about a possible situation on campus. It turned out to be a false alarm. 

“The SRO (school resource officer) received information that a student may have brought a firearm to school this morning,” Prince Edward County Sheriff Tony Epps said in a statement posted to social media. “The student in question has been detained and a search was conducted, but no gun was found.” 

As a result of the tip, Epps requested K9 units to conduct a thorough search of the school. Those were brought in by Virginia State Police, which took some time. That’s why the classes were placed in lockdown, to wait for and while the K9s and their handlers went through the campus. Epps said it was a case of erring on the side of caution. 

“The high school has undergone a thorough search by K9 units from the Virginia State Police, with no weapons found. We treat all threats to our students and staff with the utmost seriousness and will continue to go above and beyond to ensure their safety,” Epps said in a statement. He thanked people for their patience and understanding during the situation. He also had deputies and investigators stay on scene for a while at the high school, providing support to the school resource officer as the lockdown ended. Officials from Prince Edward County Public Schools also thanked parents and other residents for their patience during the situation.

No active shooter, so back to normal

Things went back to normal fairly quickly, as all of the school’s basketball teams suited up and headed down to the street to the Joan Perry Brock Center, where it is Senior Night for the Eagles. The boys junior varsity starts at 5 p.m., then girls varsity tips at 6 p.m. and boys varsity tips off at 8 p.m. All three games will be played against Nottoway County.