Volunteer High School: Person with gun seen at Tennessee school, students evacuated
CHURCH HILL, TENNESSEE: Hawkins County School officials informed that Volunteer High School was on lockdown on Tuesday morning, August 10, which is the first full day back to school for students, according to their website. Local news reports said that per the officials with the Hawkins County Sheriff’s Office, the school went on lockdown around 8 am after reports of a person on campus with a gun.
Reporter Olivia Bailey shared on Twitter a statement from the Hawkins County School about the incident at Volunteer High School. It said, “There has been an emergency situation at Volunteer High School. Out of an abundance of caution, all schools from Surgoinsville to East Hawkins County have been placed on lockdown.”
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“Our major concern at this time,” the statement read, “is for the safety of our students and staff; please stay clear of the area to allow law enforcement and emergency personnel access to the area. VHS students are currently being evacuated to the National Guard Armory. More information will be forthcoming.”
LATEST: Here is the statement on the Hawkins County Schools website about the incident at Volunteer High School. pic.twitter.com/MVnvOTNrM7
— Olivia Bailey (@OliviaBaileyTV) August 10, 2021
As per local news reports, authorities also confirmed they were on location at the high school where the evacuation of the building is in progress. School administration staff was also on location at the school.
School officials reportedly have urged people not to attempt to come to the school. Parents have been advised to go to the Mount Carmel National Guard Armory at 399 Highway 11 W for reunification. Parents have also been told to stay in their vehicle and wait for their children to be brought to them. Hawkins County Emergency Communications has also reportedly requested people not to call 911 or Central Dispatch unless they have an emergency.
Hawkins County Emergency Communications is requesting everyone not to call 911 or Central Dispatch unless you have an emergency.
— Hawkins County Emergency Communications - 911 (@HawkinsCo911) August 10, 2021
If you have a student that attends Volunteer High School, please report to the Mount Carmel Army National Guard at 399 Highway 11 W.
Reporting live on Twitter, Bailey shared photos, writing, “Numerous law enforcement agencies from all over the region are on scene at Volunteer High School. Multiple ambulances are staged just down the road on Highway 11-W. Police are calling over speakers instructing parents to pick up students at the Mount Carmel Armory.”
ON SCENE: Numerous law enforcement agencies from all over the region are on scene at Volunteer High School.
— Olivia Bailey (@OliviaBaileyTV) August 10, 2021
Multiple ambulances are staged just down the road on Highway 11-W.
Police are calling over speakers instructing parents to pick up students at the Mount Carmel Armory. pic.twitter.com/gJVyB4e9PN
On Google Maps, a search for the school’s location reveals a warning. It gives a notice about the reporting of an incident at the that location. Authorities have not yet revealed more details about the situation.
The comments section on Hawkins County School District’s Facebook page is full of people saying that they were praying for the safety of everyone there. Back in April, in Tennessee, police confronted 17-year-old Anthony Thompson Jr in a bathroom at Knoxville’s Austin-East Magnet High. During a brief struggle, a gun hidden in the teen’s pocket went off, prompting one of the officers to shoot him. As per a Washington Post article, dating back to the Columbine High School massacre in 1999, at least 151 children, educators, staff and family members and 37 shooters have been killed in assaults during school hours on 278 campuses. Another 323 people have been hurt.