Drizzt
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The Boston Globe
February 5, 2003, Wednesday ,THIRD EDITION
SECTION: METRO/REGION; Pg. B3
LENGTH: 844 words
HEADLINE: Anand Vaishnav of the Globe staff contributed to this story.;
GUN THREAT RATTLES LITTLETON SCHOOLS
BYLINE: By Peter Schworm, Globe Staff Correspondent
BODY:
LITTLETON - Littleton public schools were locked down for several hours yesterday after an anonymous caller warned school officials that a student carrying guns was headed to the high school. Authorities concluded that the call was a hoax, but not before dozens of worried parents had rushed to the school and students spent several anxious hours in dark, locked classrooms.
With parents and children essentially cut off from one another during the tense morning hours, many sought refuge in modern technology: Students, told at first that the lockdown was a drill, logged onto the Web and found stories about the weapons rumors. Parents, who learned of the lockdown from friends and news reports, frantically called their children's cellphones. "They were sitting there in the dark with no idea," said Barbara Jones, who spoke to her daughter Jennifer, 18, a senior, via cellphone. "It's every parent's worst nightmare. I'm just so glad things turned out OK."
Jones was among more than 100 parents who milled around a church parking lot near the high school that police and school officials used as a staging area. Two hours after receiving the anonymous call, Littleton Police Chief John Kelly moved the parents into St. Anne's Church and told them the students were safe.
"At this time, we do not believe the threat is valid," Kelly said at a news conference that followed. Littleton, 30 miles northwest of Boston, has about 4,500 residents.
Kelly said that at around 8 a.m. yesterday, a receptionist at the high school received a call from a man who said, "My son just left the house with all my guns and he is on his way there. I'm on my way," and then hung up. The receptionist alerted a school resource officer.
Responding police, assisted by SWAT and emergency response teams, quickly secured the 324-student high school, as well as four other Littleton schools - two elementary schools, a middle school, and a private school. Students and teachers sat inside locked classrooms with the lights off and the shades drawn. No one was allowed in the halls or near windows.
Using trained dogs, police searched the high school, checking lockers and accounting for every student. Police also crosschecked a list of absent students against local gun ownership records, Kelly said. The call could not be traced, and the receptionist did not recognize the caller's voice, Kelly said.
Paul Livingston, superintendent of Littleton public schools, said school officials did not have any immediate suspects among present or former students. "No specific student comes to mind," said Livingston, who said the high school has not received any similar threats in the past.
Students were thankful that the warning was a hoax, but were drained by the ordeal, said Kaitlyn Callaluca, a senior who used her cellphone to reassure her mother she was fine. "The more people that called, the scarier it was," Callaluca said. "At first we were just aggravated that the drill was lasting so long. But we got nervous just sitting there not knowing anything. I wish they had told us something. We're all ready to go home."
Confined to a small room with no windows, Jennifer Jones and her classmates surfed for information on the Web. "We had a drill planned for this week, and everyone figured it was that," Jones said. "But after we knew something was going on, we logged onto the Internet and found the story."
About 11:30 a.m., a SWAT team burst into her classroom, Jones said. "My heart stopped," she said. "It was really frightening."
Andrea Graham, a senior who arrived at school late, was greeted in the parking lot by a SWAT team member, who told her to head back home. "I told them, 'I'm sorry; I'm only late,' " she said. "I just wanted to miss first period. Now everyone is going to know."
At the middle school, the atmosphere yesterday morning was similarly tense. "They told us at first it was a drill, but later they told us something had happened," said Courtney Hartwell, 14. "But they wouldn't tell us what. It was pretty scary. They told us not to go near the windows."
By 1 p.m., all schools had been cleared to resume normal operations, although most high school students went home.
Many parents said school officials handled the threat properly by ordering the lockdown, but remained wary that an armed student may still be on the loose. Many parents of high school students said they planned to keep their children home today.
"If I find the guns are accounted for, I'll send them to school," said Deborah Fidler. "I think it was handled appropriately, but it's still unresolved."
Nancy Gustafson , the schools' curriculum director, said Littleton schools will open today as scheduled. "All activities are proceeding as normal," she said. "But we will have increased vigilance to make sure everything runs smoothly."
"It's mostly trying to come to grips with the fact that Littleton is a small town, and it's just not that anymore," said Sena Martinec, parent of an eighth-grader. "It's just not fire drills anymore, is it?"
February 5, 2003, Wednesday ,THIRD EDITION
SECTION: METRO/REGION; Pg. B3
LENGTH: 844 words
HEADLINE: Anand Vaishnav of the Globe staff contributed to this story.;
GUN THREAT RATTLES LITTLETON SCHOOLS
BYLINE: By Peter Schworm, Globe Staff Correspondent
BODY:
LITTLETON - Littleton public schools were locked down for several hours yesterday after an anonymous caller warned school officials that a student carrying guns was headed to the high school. Authorities concluded that the call was a hoax, but not before dozens of worried parents had rushed to the school and students spent several anxious hours in dark, locked classrooms.
With parents and children essentially cut off from one another during the tense morning hours, many sought refuge in modern technology: Students, told at first that the lockdown was a drill, logged onto the Web and found stories about the weapons rumors. Parents, who learned of the lockdown from friends and news reports, frantically called their children's cellphones. "They were sitting there in the dark with no idea," said Barbara Jones, who spoke to her daughter Jennifer, 18, a senior, via cellphone. "It's every parent's worst nightmare. I'm just so glad things turned out OK."
Jones was among more than 100 parents who milled around a church parking lot near the high school that police and school officials used as a staging area. Two hours after receiving the anonymous call, Littleton Police Chief John Kelly moved the parents into St. Anne's Church and told them the students were safe.
"At this time, we do not believe the threat is valid," Kelly said at a news conference that followed. Littleton, 30 miles northwest of Boston, has about 4,500 residents.
Kelly said that at around 8 a.m. yesterday, a receptionist at the high school received a call from a man who said, "My son just left the house with all my guns and he is on his way there. I'm on my way," and then hung up. The receptionist alerted a school resource officer.
Responding police, assisted by SWAT and emergency response teams, quickly secured the 324-student high school, as well as four other Littleton schools - two elementary schools, a middle school, and a private school. Students and teachers sat inside locked classrooms with the lights off and the shades drawn. No one was allowed in the halls or near windows.
Using trained dogs, police searched the high school, checking lockers and accounting for every student. Police also crosschecked a list of absent students against local gun ownership records, Kelly said. The call could not be traced, and the receptionist did not recognize the caller's voice, Kelly said.
Paul Livingston, superintendent of Littleton public schools, said school officials did not have any immediate suspects among present or former students. "No specific student comes to mind," said Livingston, who said the high school has not received any similar threats in the past.
Students were thankful that the warning was a hoax, but were drained by the ordeal, said Kaitlyn Callaluca, a senior who used her cellphone to reassure her mother she was fine. "The more people that called, the scarier it was," Callaluca said. "At first we were just aggravated that the drill was lasting so long. But we got nervous just sitting there not knowing anything. I wish they had told us something. We're all ready to go home."
Confined to a small room with no windows, Jennifer Jones and her classmates surfed for information on the Web. "We had a drill planned for this week, and everyone figured it was that," Jones said. "But after we knew something was going on, we logged onto the Internet and found the story."
About 11:30 a.m., a SWAT team burst into her classroom, Jones said. "My heart stopped," she said. "It was really frightening."
Andrea Graham, a senior who arrived at school late, was greeted in the parking lot by a SWAT team member, who told her to head back home. "I told them, 'I'm sorry; I'm only late,' " she said. "I just wanted to miss first period. Now everyone is going to know."
At the middle school, the atmosphere yesterday morning was similarly tense. "They told us at first it was a drill, but later they told us something had happened," said Courtney Hartwell, 14. "But they wouldn't tell us what. It was pretty scary. They told us not to go near the windows."
By 1 p.m., all schools had been cleared to resume normal operations, although most high school students went home.
Many parents said school officials handled the threat properly by ordering the lockdown, but remained wary that an armed student may still be on the loose. Many parents of high school students said they planned to keep their children home today.
"If I find the guns are accounted for, I'll send them to school," said Deborah Fidler. "I think it was handled appropriately, but it's still unresolved."
Nancy Gustafson , the schools' curriculum director, said Littleton schools will open today as scheduled. "All activities are proceeding as normal," she said. "But we will have increased vigilance to make sure everything runs smoothly."
"It's mostly trying to come to grips with the fact that Littleton is a small town, and it's just not that anymore," said Sena Martinec, parent of an eighth-grader. "It's just not fire drills anymore, is it?"
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