Reports of armed student prompt shelter-in-place at several Union County schools
The shelter-in-place order impacted schools in Scotch Plains, Westfield and Fanwood.
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Students and staff at Union Catholic High School in Scotch Plains were told to shelter in place on Monday because police were reportedly looking for a student who had a gun on campus.
Union Catholic is located along Martine Avenue in Scotch Plains.
News 12 New Jersey is waiting on confirmation that police in Scotch Plains found that student and placed him in custody.
Officials say that at 2:10 p.m., students were released from classes as usual. Buses and parents were lined up and waiting to take students home.
Students told News 12 that at 10:45 a.m., the school went into lockdown because local police were looking for a student who was reportedly armed.
News 12 was also told that the wanted teenager ran from the campus, which led to a shelter-in-place order at every school in the district, as well as in nearby Westfield and Fanwood.
Students were aware of the young man that the police were looking for, but not many details were made available.
“It was pretty scary but we knew we were pretty much safe,” a senior student who wished to remain anonymous told News 12. “We had third period and then we stayed there for like the rest of the day. We had lunch though.”
Parents were notified through a phone call that Union Catholic was sheltering in place. All after-school sports and activities were canceled due to the incident.
