CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A middle school in the Highland Creek neighborhood was put on lockdown after a threat to the school, a Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools spokesperson said.
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Officials said Ridge Road Middle School off Highland Creek Parkway was on lockdown Tuesday afternoon. They have not said who threatened the school or how it was threatened.
Authorities said all students and staff are safe.
Channel 9's Ken Lemon spoke with parents after the lockdown and many are concerned, not just about what happened on campus, but that their children have to be so prepared for the worst in a place designed to keep them safe.
Student Trevor Solvo said despite the warning, most of the students believe it was a drill until it went on too long.
"They were like 'Lockdown, lockdown this is not a drill,'" Trevor Solvo said. "We turned out the lights like it was a normal lockdown. Everyone thought it was like a joke and stuff and this was practice and then, everyone got concerned after it hit the 10-minute mark."
He said the students had to stand against the walls of their classroom.
"I was really confused because I had never been in an actual lockdown before," Trevor Solvo said. "Okay, this is weird."
The school was on lockdown for 45-minutes and Trevor Solvo's father, Theo Solvo said he got a text message shortly after saying the lockdown had been lifted.
He said he also got text messages in groups used by parents.
"They take all threats seriously," Theo Solvo said. "Everyone saw something was going on and everyone panics and posts a message about what's going on at the middle school."
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Theo Salvo said he is happy that in the end it turned out to be just another drill, but one that had to be taken seriously.
"You'd rather be prepared for something than not be prepared at all and have that happen," Theo Salvo said.
A police investigation is still underway.
No other details about the threat were released.
Check back for updates on this developing story.