Reports of armed person at Christopher Columbus High School prompts massive emergency response
A tense situation unfolded in Miami on Wednesday morning after the Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office said there was a report of an armed person on the campus of Christopher Columbus High School.
According to information provided by the MDSO, emergency crews "Immediately responded" to Christopher Columbus High School in Southwest Miami-Dade after receiving the report of a "potential armed subject" at the school. The call came in around 10:37 a.m. after 911 received a report that someone was on campus with a weapon.
The school was locked down, as was St. Brendan, which is adjacent to Christopher Columbus High School, while the investigation was underway and as worried parents rushed to the scene.
The MDSO said that deputies, along with the Priority Response Team, conducted a thorough search of both Christopher Columbus High School and St. Brendan.
Assistant Sheriff Brian Rafky told parents during the response, "Our top officers are checking right now and they have not found anything… We are leaving no stone unturned to make sure the children are safe."
After the investigation, the MDSO said reports of the armed person on campus were "unfounded."
"There was no active shooter and no threat was found," the MDSO said in an update. "Two students sustained minor injuries while running during the response."
By about 11:52 a.m., officials said the lockdown at Christopher Columbus High School was lifted after no one with a weapon was found. Rafky later added, "We were able to clear the high school and St. Brendan's as well ensuring everyone is safe."
The incident was determined to be unfounded after a sweep of both campuses, and investigators are working to investigate how the call was initiated.
Rafky said there was "no evidence to believe this happened other than a phone call itself," adding that the Homeland Security Bureau is investigating to determine who made the call and that whoever is responsible will be held accountable.
The lockdowns have since been lifted, and officials gave the all clear once the investigation concluded.
Christopher Columbus High School officials said students were dismissed early after the incident ended.
In a statement, the school's principal and president said: "We are grateful for the swift response of law enforcement and thank our students, staff and families for their patience and cooperation."
Parents race to schools after learning of potential threat
While students were locked down during the situation, parents began to head to the campuses and surround both schools, hoping to receive information on what was taking place.
"It's so scary," Barbara Martin said.
She told CBS News Miami that her child was inside St. Brendan when the situation was unfolding.
"Your hands are tied, and you're thinking of, you know, what could happen? What's the possibility of, you know, something being serious. Thankfully it was a joke or whatever. I don't know. I'm just super nervous right now."
George Murio, another parent, told CBS News Miami: "I have a little one at St. Brendan's and you realize like a parent you have to calm down the little boy and start calling him and this is a sad reality of life today." He added that parents have to react the same way whether the threat is real or not, saying, "It just sucks that kids have to experience this this way."
A third parent said that his son was in the area on a field trip with other seventh graders from a nearby middle school.
Parents said it was nerve-wracking to receive text messages from their children who were locked down inside the schools. Rafky also urged parents to warn their children never to make calls like this, noting that people can be arrested for false reports.