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By SCOTT MIMS / Staff Writer

CALERA — The report of a possible firearm resulted in a lockdown of Calera High School on Thursday, May 20.

Officers from Calera Police Department assisted the school’s resource officer in a search, and no such weapon was located, the department reported Thursday at 11:46 a.m. Following standard protocol, the lockdown was then lifted.

“We take any and all threats to the safety of our schools and our kids very seriously,” said Calera Police Chief David Hyche. “We follow up and investigate each incident and use all available tools and resources to make Calera schools as safe as possible.  This has never been more important with the level of violence we are seeing around our country and the growing numbers of young offenders committing violent crimes.”

According to a report from the school, a student made the initial report to a school employee, and the employee in turn notified the administration. At that point the school was immediately placed under lockdown and authorities were called to assist with the investigation.

“We are grateful no weapon was found and that everyone is safe,” said school Principal Christopher Myles. “The faculty and staff did a great job of following our protocol and procedures. We are, also, greatly appreciative of our partnership with the Calera Police Department.”

An update was sent out via the school’s Facebook page the day of the incident stating that the lockdown had been lifted.