Hastings High School in Alief went into lockdown Wednesday afternoon after a bomb threat was called in, triggering a tense few hours that delayed bus service across the district and briefly cut off access to a nearby early voting location. The lockdown lifted after 4 p.m., and students were sent home as Alief ISD worked to confirm the campus was safe.
According to the Houston Chronicle, Houston police received a report of a bomb threat at Hastings High School a little before 2 p.m. Wednesday, prompting the lockdown. A separate account from FOX 26 Houston cited HPD as saying the threat was actually called into the school around 1:15 p.m., so the exact timing of when the threat reached police remains inconsistent between reports.
By the time the lockdown was lifted after 4 p.m., the district had begun dismissing students, the Chronicle reported, with Alief ISD confirming all of its campuses had been cleared as of 4:30 p.m. ABC13 Houston captured the aftermath with SkyEye13 footage showing a heavy law enforcement presence on campus as students were finally let out Wednesday afternoon.
Accounts Differ on Injuries as Buses Scramble to Catch Up
The Chronicle reported that no injuries were reported and that police did not say anyone was detained, while FOX 26 Houston's reporting said it remained unclear whether any injuries had occurred in connection with the lockdown. Neither report indicated that anyone had been arrested or identified in relation to the threat, and officials have not said whether a device was found on campus.
ABC13 reported that school officials said Hastings High School had initially been placed on lockdown due to an alleged threat. The district asked parents and guardians to refrain from coming to campus until further notice and urged the public to avoid spreading unverified information while the situation was still developing.
Getting kids home safely took priority once the lockdown lifted. The district said afternoon transportation would be delayed districtwide Wednesday, and officials told FOX 26 Houston that their primary concern was getting buses onto campus and students home safely. Alief ISD added that student and staff safety was its primary focus and that it would share more updates once information could be verified.
Nearby Voting Site Also Disrupted
The scare rippled beyond the school gates. The Alief ISD Center at 4250 Cook Road, which is serving as a current early voting location, was closed for about an hour due to police investigation in the area, according to law enforcement cited in the seed reporting. The Harris County Election Office said voting resumed at the center once police activity in the area ended.
By 4:45 p.m., roads to the vote center had been cleared, per the Chronicle, though the HarrisVotes tracker showed 35 voters still in line about five minutes later, with an estimated wait of more than 30 minutes. It was not the only Harris County polling site to see disruption Wednesday — the Chronicle also reported that the Baker Ripley location in East Houston was briefly locked down and reopened a little after noon due to a separate suspicious-persons report at a nearby building.
Hastings High's Recent History of Campus Incidents
Wednesday's lockdown is not the first time Hastings High School has drawn an emergency response. ABC13 previously reported that an incident involving a staff member and a student at the campus ended with emergency responders on scene and the school briefly placed in secure mode. An 18-year-old woman was hospitalized after being shot in the Hastings High School parking lot, with authorities telling ABC13 at the time that the shooting was possibly accidental and that Alief ISD police were assisting Houston police in the investigation.
For now, Alief ISD has not released further details on what prompted Wednesday's threat or whether the investigation into its source is ongoing. The district has said only that it will provide additional updates once information can be verified.
