Schools across Port Macquarie and Wauchope were in lock down mode this afternoon, following an anonymous phone call to police.
Police contacted schools which then implemented their own security procedures, monitor access in and out of their grounds.
The lock down sparked a frenzy of comments on social networking sites and panic among parents who weren’t told the reason for the move.
A police statement issued late this afternoon failed to shed any further light on the content of the call.
No sites were evacuated and police say the school day ended without incident.
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I rang the Port Macquarie police office tonight around 6.00pm to ask if it was safe to send my children back to school tommorrow and this is the response i got from one of the officer’s He told me that the schools had overreacted to the whole situation and that it was a hoax call.I told him that on Prime News they said the call was not a hoax and that it was still being investigated.He told me to believe what i wanted to believe and i asked did he think if it was safe for my kids to go back and he replied do you what you want to do i cannot comment any further on the incident.
Good to see that the public service is working well, employing rude officers who cannot even be a little sympathic to a concerned parent!!!!!!
Thanks for the update. I have been monitoring the news updates (of which there have been none since the news last night at 6pm) and wondering what to do myself… It would be helpful if the police/school gave us enough information to make an informed decision about the safety of our children.
How can schools possibly over-react to the possible threat of a gunman coming to a school?!
My child will be at home today. I’m just not taking the risk and I know I would stress all day otherwise.
If it was a hoax, then a media release needs to go out and the loser needs to be prosecuted and locked up.
Hi,
I would all like to let you know that this in fact was NOT a hoax.. a Father by which i cant name was having a domestic dispute with his ex wife and going through a awful divorce and custody battle.. he made a threat and the appropriate people acted i am not sending my children back to school until they have found him and brought justice to the many people he has affected..
and yes i too phone the local police before i found out what happened to which they were no help at all in fact quiet rude.
Lets face it the Port Macquarie Police would not know what to do if anything like that happened. and i bet they would all be scared sh1tless if the man did carry out those threats… good on the schools for following the right procedures..