Officials: Garden City Middle School evacuated, students dismissed after threat

The threat comes a day after a lockout was ordered at the school after they say they received concerning phone calls over the possibility of an external threat.

News 12 Staff

Mar 17, 2023, 3:00 PM

Updated 617 days ago

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School officials say Garden City Middle School was evacuated and students were then dismissed after the school received a threat early Friday.
The threat comes a day after a lockout was ordered at the school after they say they received concerning phone calls over the possibility of an external threat.
Police finished searching the building and deemed the threat to be noncredible. People were then allowed back in the building before noon.
Eighth grader Sophia Follender says the school gathered students into the lunchroom before they were all taken to an area outside the school.
"They're like, 'OK, we need to evacuate the school,'" Follender says.
Garden City police says the threatening call was reported at 8 a.m. a day after three calls were described by officials as "concerning."
A spokesperson for the district would only say to News 12 that the school received a threatening phone call.
Police say the students were not in danger, but parents say the threats are still harmful and disruptive.
"I'm concerned, I'm frustrated because it's kind of the boy who cried wolf," said Amy Escher, who picked up her seventh grader from school during the evacuation.
School officials say there are over 900 students enrolled but did not say how many were evacuated or how many returned to class.