UPDATE: On Oct. 23, Opelika Police arrested a 14-year-old juvenile from Montgomery, AL after making a terroristic threat on Opelika High School. According to a press release by the Opelika Police Department on Oct. 24, the arrest is in relation to the lockdown Opelika High School placed on Oct. 22 after someone called and threatened they were on their way to shoot up the school.
OPD had assistance from the Federal Bureau of Investigation in tracing the phone call back to a residence in Montgomery. Members of the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency then executed a search warrant at the residence where they discovered the phone used in the threat was in the 14-year-old's possession.
The teen was arrested and transported to the Lee County Youth Development Center where they are currently incarcerated.
The initial investigation suggests that the threat was not planned to be carried out. Detectives are still investigating the teen's connection to Opelika.
The lockdown at Opelika High School lifted after an "external" threat was reported to Opelika School resource officers at approximately 10:45 a.m. on Tuesday. The school remained on lockdown until 12:45 p.m. and parents were allowed to pick up their children through the main entrance off of Bulldog Parkway as long as they had their ID. Students without rides remained at the school until bus dismissal.
According to Opelika Police, the report was of an individual "walking to shoot up the school."
After the threat was called in, Opelika High School immediately went on lockdown. No staff or students were reported as harmed. Opelika Police set up a perimeter around the school, and no one was allowed to enter or exit the campus.
Police directed parents who arrived before the lockdown was lifted to the back parking lot of Southern Union Community College. OPD provided updates to the community through their Facebook page.
According to the Opelika Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation joined the investigation alongside OPD and members from the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency and Lee County Emergency Management Agency.
This is an ongoing story, The Auburn Plainsman will update this article when further information is provided.
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Michaela Yielding is a senior in journalism currently serving as the news editor. She has been with The Auburn Plainsman since fall 2023.
