Media Statement - Update on School Lockdowns
November 20, 2022, 2:20 P.M.
Effective immediately, the Wayne County School System is removing all lockdowns and schools will fully resume normal operations. We greatly appreciate the response of our school community, law enforcement at local, state, and federal levels, and all others who have assisted in ensuring the safety of our students and staff members.
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Media Statement – Active Shooter Hoax
November 30, 2022
On the morning of November 30, 2022, multiple schools in Georgia were the recipient of shooter threats, per state/city/school officials and open-source information. Incidents were first reported in Savannah. Following a report at Savannah High School, shooter threats surfaced in Baldwin, Burke, Early, Wayne, Muscogee, Coffee, Ware, Camden, Valdosta City, Vidalia City, and Glynn Counties. As a result, local law enforcement in Jesup and Wayne County immediately increased their patrols around schools and all schools initiated Level 2 soft lockdown procedures for approximately two hours. During the Level 2 lockdown, all doors remained locked and all employees were on heightened awareness. Teaching and learning continued with limited movement in the buildings. At 11:00 A.M, all schools transitioned to Level 1 lockdowns in which doors remained locked and operations returned to normal.
According to Georgia Emergency Management Agency and Homeland Security, it is believed that these incidents may be false reporting or a hoax. The Wayne County School System remains vigilant in taking all threats seriously and remains in close contact with local and regional law enforcement to stay abreast of the situation.