UPDATE: Two students at Lafayette High have been arrested and accused of terrorizing in connection with the social media threat that caused a lock down at Lafayette High for the second time this week. One of those students is accused of being involved in both threats, police say.
Lafayette Police reported at 3 p.m. that the lock down, which began just before 9 a.m. Thursday, had been lifted. They said the school had been searched and secured.
"Detectives with the Lafayette Police Department’s Criminal Investigation Division began aggressively deploying resources to locate where the threats came from, along with identifying the individuals who were responsible for creating this panic in our community," a release states.
Two students were arrested Thursday: One of them was booked with two counts terrorizing, accused of involvement in the Monday social media threat and the Thursday social media threat, a spokesman said.
A second student booked with terrorizing today was accused of involvement in only one of the social media threats, he said.
"Throughout the investigation detectives were able to determine the source of the social media threats. Two juvenile students at Lafayette High School were arrested. One juvenile was charged with 2 counts of Terrorizing, the second juvenile was charged with 1 count of Terrorizing. Both juveniles were booked into the Lafayette Juvenile Detention Center," a release states.
Every threat, even if it is believed to be a hoax, is taken seriously, police say.
"The Lafayette Police Department take all threats of violence towards students and schools seriously. Situations like this cause panic and stress, and takes away valuable time from all students in this area. We will investigate all threats to the fullest extent and continue to protect all students in the Lafayette Parish School System," the release states.
The LPD thanked other local agencies - including the Lafayette Parish Sheriff’s Office, Lafayette Parish School System, and the Lafayette City Marshal’s Office - for helping.
The lockdown was as of 12:45 p.m., been downgraded to shelter-in-place, police say.
Two days after a lockdown due to a social media threat, Lafayette High was on lockdown again just before 9 a.m. Thursday.
Lafayette Police confirm they are interviewing several students at the Police Department about the threats. Our crews saw a female student, in handcuffs, loaded into the back of a police car. Parents at the scene told our crew they saw two other students loaded into police cars.
"Around 8:30 a.m., officers and staff at LHS were notified about the social media threats. LHS administration and school resource officers immediately placed the school into locked down. The school is secure, and locked down protocol is in place. The LPSS are in contact with parents, and sending updates," a release from Lafayette Police states.
The threat, posted on an Instagram page dedicated to school threats, names certain teachers, staff and students. The person states they have a gun and don't care if the police come.
Lafayette Police say the school was placed on lockdown after they became aware of the threat. More officers are on their way to the school now, a spokesman said.
Student families received a notice saying the school is on lockdown, no visitors will be allowed to enter or leave the campus, and students are safe and in class.
If you want to read about the first lockdown this week, click here. Two students were arrested for their alleged roles in that incident.
