CLARKSVILLE, Md. — Tuesday afternoon, Howard County Police responded to a possible bomb threat at River Hill High School in Clarksville.
Parents tell WMAR-2 News that students were set to be dismissed, but the school suddenly was placed on lockdown.
"I need to see my kid hug him and making sure that he's doing okay," said one parent.
Howard County Police say there was a threat phoned in about a student with a gun and bomb.
The school immediately went into lockdown, all doors were locked, and students and staff barricaded in classrooms.
"In the classroom, we had to get one of the SWAT members and they would bang on the door and say Howard County Police and then they'd come in and escort us. And it's like a line up of SWAT guys and then we'd walk out the door and onto the bus with our hands up," said a junior at River Hill High School.
After a thorough search by the Howard County Police Department, students were transported to the Ten Oaks Ballroom to be reunited with their parents.
Some parents felt authorities had the situation under control.
"The police and the fire department have done an amazing job trying to keep it organized as much as possible. I mean this is a situation that they never had to deal with before and because of that they're putting a lot of their skills to the test," said Vicki Rand, daughter is a junior at River Hill High School.
Investigators found no evidence of any actual danger and believe the call may have been a hoax. They are still trying to find where the call originated.
A few of the students say they felt safe, but the dismissal was slow.
"Like I knew the school would like keep us safe because that is their utmost priority, like when I was escorted, I saw cops all down the hallways everything. They had everything under control security wise, but like moving the students through, no," said Ian Tran, student at River Hill High School.
River Hill High School has since been cleared and no danger was located by police.
