Watauga High placed on soft lockdown, lifted a short time later

UPDATE 1:53 pm from Principal Scott Strickler – “After receiving a tip that school administrators received around 12:45 about a potential threat Watauga High School moved to a soft lockdown out of an abundance of caution. Safety is priority number one on our campus. We enacted our emergency preparedness plan and kept students and staff in place. After determining there was no threat we lifted the soft lockdown and let the day resume. We worked in partnership with the Watauga County Sheriff's Department and greatly appreciate their partnership. Thank you all for putting our student and staff safety first.”

Watauga High has been placed on a soft lockdown this afternoon. Below is an email sent to students, staff, and parents/guardians from Principal Scott Strickler. WataugaOnline will update as more information becomes available.

Good afternoon students, staff, and parents/guardians,

At 12:45 WHS received an anonymous tip that caused the school to be placed on lockdown to ensure that student and staff safety could be maintained. At this time we do not believe there is a credible threat and this action was taken out of an abundance of caution. As soon as we have ensured everyone in the school is safe we will lift the lockdown and return to the normal school day.

Thank you,

Scott Strickler