Updated 2:00 p.m., Sept. 17, 2021 with information from Plano ISD.
Two out-of-context photos, posted on social media, led to a lockdown for one of the area’s largest high schools Friday morning.
Police were called to Plano West High School after the photos -- apparently showing a student holding a rifle in the school’s hallways -- began to circulate on Friday.
“Lee Harvey Oswald type beat” one caption read. “So this what we doin now.”
What looked nefarious, however, was a picture of someone participating in Thursday’s JROTC practice, according to Officer Jerry Minton, a public information officer with the Plano Police Department.
In a message to families, West’s principal Janis Williams, explained that the student was holding a pellet rifle that is used in the JROTC program, and that the lockdown occurred “out of an abundance of caution.”
“When the social media post was reported to our administrators without any other context aside from the post, we felt a responsibility to immediately follow-up since the safety of our students and staff is always our number one priority,” Williams’ message read. “As a result, the campus went into a lockdown and police and the district’s Safety and Security department quickly responded.”
Plano police fielded multiple calls on the picture once it began making the rounds on social media Friday morning, Minton said, including one from a student hiding in a bathroom on Plano West’s campus.
The lockdown lasted less than an hour, as Plano police and school officials worked to figure out the source of the photo. After the lockdown, the district made automated calls to parents to inform them of the incident, according to the school’s PTA.
Nearly 2,800 students -- all juniors and seniors -- attend Plano West Senior High School.
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