Elgin High School was placed on lockdown Monday afternoon after a caller reported a suspect with a gun and bombs on campus, prompting officers to search the school while students were confined inside. Police determined the threat was a hoax, but for students inside, the fear was real.
According to an official media release from the Elgin Police Department, officers received the emergency call at approximately 12:40 p.m. on Monday, prompting an immediate lockdown of the school. Police and EISD security and administration acted immediately, while EPD officers searched the school. Student Lucia Gayosso told KEYE that “people were shouting, people were crying” as she and her classmates waited behind locked doors, unsure whether the threat was real.
Gayosso said she was scared, and the station reported that she and her classmates made it through the day safely. Even after the lockdown was lifted, some students continued to feel fear, the outlet noted — a lingering unease that often outlasts the all-clear in these situations.
How Elgin Police and the School District Responded
To keep families updated during the incident, Elgin police dispatched alerts through the Warn Central Texas reverse notification system alongside Elgin ISD's internal notification protocols, per the department's release. School leaders also reminded students and families to report anything suspicious or concerning going forward, the station's report noted.
Following the search, the Elgin Police Department's Criminal Investigation Division opened an active investigation into the hoax call and asked anyone with relevant information to come forward, the department said in its release. It was not the first time Elgin High School has faced a security scare tied to unverified threats: FOX 7 reported an assault report on April 24 and, the next day, threats to pull a fire alarm and a report of a shooting.
A Felony Under Texas Law
Texas law treats hoax threats against public schools as serious crimes. Under Texas Penal Code Section 42.06, knowingly making a false alarm or emergency report involving a public K-12 school is classified as a state jail felony, carrying a potential penalty of 180 days to two years in state jail and fines up to $10,000, according to the L&L Law Group. Separately, Texas Penal Code Section 42.0601, enacted through Senate Bill 1056 in 2021, makes so-called swatting — a false report meant to trigger an emergency response — a Class A misdemeanor, with felony enhancements if someone suffers serious injury or death as a result, per the David Smith Law Firm.
The Monday threat at Elgin High School was not the only one Central Texas law enforcement fielded that day. Kyle police responded to a false emergency threat at a business, amid similar calls across the country.
Elgin High School and Its District
Elgin High School is part of the Elgin Independent School District.
For now, the identity of Monday's caller remains unknown, and Elgin police have not said whether the threat originated locally or as part of a wider hoax campaign. What is clear is the toll it took on students like Gayosso, who spent the lockdown not knowing if the danger behind their locked doors was real.
