Teacher mistook cellphone for gun prompting school lockdown

Click here for updates on this story

    ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico (KOAT) — Albuquerque police say a cellphone was mistaken for a gun, prompting the school to be evacuated Thursday.

According to a release sent by APD after reviewing video surveillance and talking to students and staff they learned that three students were talking in a courtyard when one of the students pointed a cellphone at the other two as though they were holding a gun.

A teacher witnessed the incident and believed she saw a gun and contacted authorities.

The incident prompted a lockdown and eventual evacuation of the school just after 8:00 a.m. on Thursday.

“All kids are safe, students have been accounted for and there are no injuries,” Rebecca Atkins with APD said.

A spokesperson with Albuquerque Public Schools said students were evacuated in waves and were walked over to Volcano Vista High School about three blocks from Tony Hillerman Middle School.

Multiple law enforcement agencies showed up to do a sweep of the school and APD sent a gun-detection dog through the school. They said no weapons were found and the scene was cleared.

Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.