WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Reynolds High School in Winston-Salem was placed on lockdown Thursday because of a “disturbance.”
The incident was reported around 10:27 a.m. The lockdown was lifted around 12:15 p.m.
“The school was placed on lockdown to swiftly regain order and ensure the safety of the students,” the Forsyth County Sheriff’s office said.
School officials said “some” Reynolds High students were involved in a “verbal disturbance” during a class change. The Sheriff's office said there was a physical disturbance of some kind and an adult came onto campus and escalated the situation. They were eventually escorted off by law enforcement. A spokesperson for the Sheriff's office said a student called the adult, which is why they came to campus. The Sheriff's office could not confirm where exactly the adult was on campus. However, Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools could not confirm the presence of an adult in the incident.
According to the district, Reynolds’ school resource officer called for additional support to calm and deescalate the situation.
The school district said school staff worked to calm the disruption as deputies responded to the scene.
“Our administrators were quick to remove the students yelling at one another,” WS/FCS superintendent Tricia McManus said. “Thankfully, this did not escalate into a large-scale disturbance inside the school, but anytime you have a student disagreement while a class change is underway, you can never be too careful.”
The sheriff's office said no students, school staff or deputies were injured. They also said there are no charges related to the disturbance.
“No students were involved in a physical fight with one another, and we have no reports of students being injured,” the school system wrote in a news release.
McManus said she wants everyone to know the district will always let parents know when there is an emergency impacting student safety.
“Understandably the large law enforcement presence outside of the school did alarm our parents and other students,” she said. “In collaboration with law enforcement, we called a lockdown as an extra precaution to ensure all students remained safe while we worked to investigate the student disturbance.”
Parents who spoke with News 2 say they're getting uncomfortable sending their children to school.
"It's very nerve-racking actually," said Joey Atkins, a Reynolds High parent. "Just the fact that it's so many incidents back to back every week. I just texted my daughter when she mentioned what happened today at the school (...) that I'm potentially switching her to virtual learning."
Forsyth County Sheriff Bobby Kimbrough wants to assure the community that his department is "doubling down" on resources and the situation is handled.
"(We've) got this. (We're) on top of this," said Kimbrough. "I assure you of that. As long as my kids are in the public schools, (you're) good. When you see me take my kid out, then it's a problem."
Two guns have been found on the Reynolds High School campus already this year. Parents say the incidents are disappointing.
"You want your kids to experience the high school years maybe as you did," said Atkins. "Go to different parties, just experience being around their classmates. It's unfortunate that we are in a place where, one, we're dealing with the pandemic and, in addition to that, all these different incidents that can threaten their lives."
"My mom, she's thinking about transferring my sister to North Forsyth next year," said Aaliyah Redd, a sibling of a Reynolds High School student. "She's not really comfortable with the shootings and stuff she's thinking about transferring her."