CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Corpus Christi police are investigating the latest false call in our area that led to a large law enforcement response outside of Ray High School Friday.
Plain and simple, a prank is nothing funny," said concerned parent Dwayne Hamilton as he waited to pick up his student from school Monday afternoon.
Hamilton is not the only parent who is still upset after last Friday's hoax.
The false 911 call resulted in a swift law enforcement response as parents also raced to the high school campus out of concern for their children.
"Some parents trying to fight the cops, some parents trying to tell them to calm down so they can get to their kids," Hamilton said.
It was those strong emotions from some parents that had law enforcement spreading out their resources. Not only conducting their investigations inside the school to make sure there was no real threat, but also dealing with those heated emotions from parents outside.
Officers formed a perimeter around the school that had gone on lockdown.
"I understand as a parent how we get scared and stuff," said concerned parent Elizabeth Gloria. "We don't know the situation going on, but we have to understand the cops need their space and doing what they need to do to keep our children safe."
Kirby Warnke, Chief of police for the Corpus Christi Independent School District, said he commends the officers who were able to keep their composure and do their jobs during the otherwise stressful event.
A number of law enforcement agencies raced to the scene including CCISD police, CCPD and the Nueces County Sheriff's Office.
"I understand that passions run hot, a person's loved one that is their whole world, help us though help them," Warnke said.
He said parents can do just that by staying informed through trusted sources such as the district's messenger service.
"First and foremost, make sure the phone number you have on file with CCISD is correct," Warnke said. "Sign up for the text messages we send out. We use school messenger to send out call downs, so as soon as the principal had something to say, if the phone number is bad, you are not going to get that message."
In addition to the messenger service, Warnke said the department will also use the district's social media platforms to put out correct information.
"I got a text message from the school, I think it was sent out to all the parents to let us know what was going on," Gloria said, "after the situation got another text message that was really good too."
Police confirmed Friday that there was no shooter and that no gun was ever found on campus. And when it came to the initial response of law enforcement during the incident, parents 3NEWS spoke with shared the same reactions as the chief.
"I think that law enforcement responded promptly, quickly and how they reacted was great," said a local parent.
According to Warnke, Friday was a display of the urgency and seamless cooperation between law enforcement and campus staff.
"The campus did what they needed to do, law enforcement first responders showed up did what they needed to do," Warnke said. "I think the city of Corpus Christi should be proud in the efforts displayed by the first responders and the campus."
Parents told 3NEWS that the school notified them that a survey would be going out on how the situation was handled where they will also be able to provide feedback.
More from 3News on KIIITV.com:
- 'They are felony charges': Beeville teen locked up for making prank call to 911 about a school threat
- 'Not a non-stop yet': Corpus Christi airport now has direct, but not non-stop, flights to Denver
- 'Decades of neglect': How Corpus Christi leaders are responding to awful street conditions
- At least five incidents of guns on school campuses in the Coastal Bend this school year so far
- Corpus Christi program that serves people with special needs has equipment stolen
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