At approximately 8:23 am, a 911 call was received by the Casper Public Safety Communications Center with a report of an active shooter at NCHS. At 8:24 AM, the Casper Police Department contacted Natrona County School District. Upon receiving the report and in accordance with our comprehensive district safety plan, Natrona County High School and law enforcement took immediate action to secure the campus. At approximately 8:25 AM, Natrona County High School went into lockdown.
Immediately, law enforcement responded to the school. This included a comprehensive response from the Natrona County Sheriff's Office, the Casper Police Department, the Mills Police Department, City of Casper Fire-EMS Department, and Banner Health.
Students and staff remained in their classrooms with the doors locked while law enforcement cleared the building. The campus was cleared, and the lockdown was lifted by the Casper Police Department at 8:55 AM.
From the onset, there appeared to be indications that the originating report was unfounded and that the report was consistent with similar hoax situations that have been occurring nationwide. Despite these indications, the Casper Police Department and local law enforcement are committed to their response to reports of school safety concerns with urgency and seriousness. For this reason, law enforcement did not identify a safety concern to other school campuses. Due to the nature of the report received, law enforcement actively cleared the building and campus to ensure there was no current threat to students or staff.
Subsequent investigation determined that the threat was unfounded and false. Natrona County High School will remain on heightened awareness throughout the remainder of the day.
Chief McPheeters stated, "The Casper Police Department treats all reports of threats to the safety of our schools and students with the urgency and the gravity that our community expects. We are grateful for the strong working relationship that we share with NCSD that helps these situations become resolved efficiently and without undue disruption of the school's activities."
"The safety of our students and staff is the absolute priority of NCSD," shared Superintendent Michael Jennings. "We want to share our appreciation to all responding agencies for their immediate response and their dedication to student and staff safety."