The Woodlands High School reopened Thursday, Nov. 5, with an increased police presence after a phone threat locked down the campus for roughly two and a half hours the day before.

Someone using an internet-based phone called the school around 12:15 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 4, and claimed a person was in the parking lot ready to "shoot up" the building and had planted pipe bombs around campus, according to a Conroe Independent School District (CISD) email sent to parents. The school's senior campus went into immediate lockdown.

No active shooter was ever on campus, and no injuries or shots fired were reported, the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office (MCSO) confirmed in a statement published by Hello Woodlands.

Inside the lockdown

Students heard the announcement over the speakers: "Lockdown lockdown lockdown, this is not a drill. Students, find the nearest classroom, and teachers, lock your doors!" according to The Caledonian, The Woodlands High School's student newspaper.

Students and staff stayed locked in classrooms for about two and a half hours, The Caledonian reported. Nearby campuses, including Legacy and Lone Star, a local daycare and surrounding neighborhoods also went into lockdown.

Parents did not receive official CISD communication until 12:56 p.m., 40 minutes after the lockdown began. Teachers were emailed a few minutes later, around 1 p.m., according to The Caledonian.

During the lockdown, students were reportedly crying in classrooms, The Caledonian reported. SWAT officers cleared most rooms on campus, entering with guns and flashlights pointed and shouting "police, put your hands up," then checking students for injuries before moving on.

Riloh Walker, a senior at The Woodlands High School, told The Caledonian that some students cried when officers pointed weapons at them during the room-clearing process.

Evacuation to Bear Branch Park

Around 2:06 p.m., CISD emailed parents that students would be bused to Bear Branch Park for reunification about one mile from the school. Students began evacuating around 2:46 p.m., walking through a corridor of armed SWAT and police officers to the bus ramp.

The walk to the buses took about 13 minutes, The Caledonian reported. Officials directed students onto any available bus, filling every seat. Buses arrived at Bear Branch Park around 3:13 p.m.

On the buses, an administrator asked for a list of every student aboard. Because classes had been separated and no teacher was present, a student ripped a sheet of notebook paper, another grabbed a pen, and they wrote their own names down, The Caledonian reported.

Cell signals were weak at the park. Parents who reached their children by phone came to the bus doors to sign them out. Students who could not contact a guardian waited until about 4 p.m., when they were moved to a group near the Bear Branch swing set for pickup.

Students who had driven to school were not allowed back on campus. The campus was cleared shortly after 5 p.m., and drivers could retrieve their cars, but personal belongings stayed locked inside the building until the following school day, according to The Caledonian.

Misinformation spread during response

During the lockdown, an altered social media post and an erroneous message from a local daycare circulated claiming a confirmed active shooter was at the school, the sheriff's office said. The daycare alerted parents to its own lockdown, citing an active shooter at The Woodlands High School, according to The Caledonian.

The sheriff's office said those messages "added confusion and panic to an already stressful situation."

Charges sought

CISD Police Chief Matthew Blakelock said at a police press conference that the district would pursue all available criminal charges, according to The Caledonian. Blakelock listed possible charges including false alarm or report felonies and terroristic threat charges. No arrest or formal charges had been publicly confirmed as of the sources' publication.

Sheriff Wesley Doolittle said the coordination among CISD police and all first responders "was incredible," according to the sheriff's office statement. The statement warned that anyone responsible for making or spreading a threat "will be fully investigated and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."

Residents with information can contact the Conroe ISD Police Department or the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office.