Tennessee high school on LOCKDOWN over reports of active shooter, ambulances on site
Volunteer High School in Hawkins County, Tennessee has gone into lockdown on students' first day back at classes after reports of an active shooter on campus. Local media say first responders are evacuating the building.
Officers are at the scene and the investigation is ongoing, according to the local sheriff's office, which added that multiple agencies were assisting. Footage from local TV channels shows a sizable police presence at the school.
Chris Vaughn, a representative of the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency, confirmed that two people had been taken to the hospital but their injuries were not related to any reports of an active shooter.
The school went into lockdown at around 8am local time. Hawkins County School District posted a message on Facebook alerting parents to the situation and advising them that the students would be evacuated to the nearby Mount Carmel National Guard Armory.
"We are currently under lockdown at Volunteer High School. The parameter is secure. Please do not attempt to come to the school," the message read.
In a later update, school district officials said that the evacuated children were being transported by bus, along with a police escort, to the armory. Parents were told to collect their children from there, but to remain in their cars upon arriving at the facility and await further information.
HAPPENING NOW: School buses filled with students escorted by law enforcement agencies are leaving Volunteer High School.Armed law enforcement personnel are on the buses with students. pic.twitter.com/zDfNBloNuu
— Olivia Bailey (@OliviaBaileyTV) August 10, 2021
The district body said that all schools “from Surgoinsville to East Hawkins County” had been placed on lockdown over the alert. At around 9:30am local time, it was reported that the lockdown had been lifted at all schools apart from Volunteer High School.
A number of local reporters and media, citing officials in the Hawkins County EMS Ambulance Service, said that several patients had been transferred from the school to hospital, although no further information was given.
The director of schools for Hawkins County, Matt Hixson, said that law enforcement were still doing a sweep of the premises but reiterated that there had been no injuries. He added that the plan is to get kids back to school on Wednesday.
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