The school posted on its Facebook page that police were “investigating a potential threat against Trinity HS.”
EULESS, Texas — Trinity High School in Euless was evacuated as police investigated a threat Thursday morning, officials said.
A 15-year-old student was arrested in connection to the incident, Euless police said. The teen faces false alarm or report charges, which is a state jail felony.
Trinity students were evacuated to the school’s football field, and police were still searching the campus around noon as they investigated the threat.
Around 11 a.m., the school posted on its Facebook page that police were “investigating a potential threat against Trinity HS.”
“At this time, we are not asking parents to come to the campus to pick up students,” the school posted.
But that didn’t stop parents, like Tamika Jiles-Berry, who feared the worst. When she arrived, police informed her that everything was under control.
Jiles-Berry told WFAA that she was working from home when she received a call from her daughter.
“She said, they’ve evacuated the school. I don’t know what’s going on but, you know, some kids are panicking,” said Jiles-Berry.
According to Euless police, a school resource officer called the department after students reported overhearing a classmate making threatening comments during a pep rally.
“We had a couple of students that stated that they had grenades in backpacks, and they were going to blow the school up,” said Euless Police Department Sgt. Scott Peterson.
Euless police officers, along with Bedford police, the FBI along and bomb squad officers, all responded to the school to investigate.
Euless PD said a 15-year-old was identified as making the threat over being angry with a teacher.
The student’s backpack was searched and no explosives were found, said Sgt. Peterson.
Shortly after, the school was given the all clear. Also, there were no students injured during the evacuation, according to the Hurst-Euless-Bedford Independent School District.
Catherine Zavala told WFAA she was asked by her sister to check on her niece and nephew following the incident. She said there were a lot of rumors and false information swirling on social media.
When she arrived, all she wanted to do was hug the children.
“My nephew, he’s already tired, wants to go home. I’m like it’s lunchtime. They’ve been in there for a few hours now. My niece was concerned about the football game,” said Zavala.
After the Uvalde tragedy, Sgt. Peterson understand parents and caregivers’ fears and that they don’t take school threats lightly.
“We have got to take those seriously. We’re going to do that every time,” said Peterson.
A sophomore, 15-year-old Neveah Sampson, shared with WFAA that some of her classmates didn’t learn about the student’s threats until the evacuation was over. She said she feels relatively safe at school and hopes things will get back to normal.
Peterson encourages parents in every school district to have conversations with their children to make sure they understand that even idle threats will be investigated regardless if they are in conversation, texts or on social media. He also hopes parents will help children to feel comfortable about reporting such behavior to them or a responsible adult.
Peterson shared that the investigation involving the 16-year-old that was taken into custody is still ongoing, and said the student could face several charges.
In an unrelated incident – but also in the HEB Independent School District – Viridian Elementary School was placed on a lockout due to a nearby SWAT incident in the area. Arlington police sent an officer to the school while the lockout was underway.
Earlier this week a student was arrested at Frisco High School after an online threat against the school. Arlington Lamar High School earlier this school year also had to up security after a reported threat. The threats did not come to fruition.