A phone call alleging a bomb threat at Saugus High School triggered a soft lockdown, a school district spokesman confirmed.
A soft lockdown allows students to move freely around the campus, but restricts public ingress and egress to the campus –– ideally, no one is allowed in or out, Caldwell explained.
The situation unfolded shortly after 11 a.m. at the campus located on the 21900 block of Centurion Way in Saugus when the school received a phone call about the threat “in a specific area of the campus,” according to sheriff’s officials and a statement from the Hart High School District.
“In an abundance of caution, site administration ordered an evacuation of a building and escorted students to another area of campus,” Hart School District spokesman Dave Caldwell said in an email.
“The rest of the students have been asked to remain in their classrooms while law enforcement conducts a review of the situation,” he said.
The evacuation and soft lockdown were activated out of an abundance of caution “to ensure law enforcement has the time to review the situation and give us the comfort to return to our normal course of classes,” Caldwell said.
The school district worked with additional sheriff’s station units to help expedite the investigation, Caldwell confirmed.
The soft lockdown was lifted before noon. A text message was sent out by the district reads:
This is the Hart District. Law enforcement and staff have determined the threat to be non-credible. Saugus HS is resuming its normal operations.
Saugus High has since resumed normal operations. No additional information about the investigation was available as of noon.
This is an unfolding breaking news story and will be updated if and when new information is received and vetted for accuracy.
