Rumored threat causes lockdown of Killeen ISD high school, 16-year-old charged

KILLEEN, Texas - A 16-year-old Killeen ISD student has been charged for rumored threats that caused their high school to be locked down this week.

Killeen ISD police charged the student with False Alarm, a state-jail felony, late Tuesday for the rumors made on Monday that prompted a lockdown of Shoemaker High School.

The district says that students and staff were never in any danger as the threat was quickly discovered to be unfounded.

"These rumors are tremendously disruptive to the school environment, and they cause unnecessary panic and fear among students and parents. The safety of every student, every day, is our very highest priority," the district said in a release. "Please be absolutely assured that we work closely with police to investigate any potential threat to the safety of our students, and we always deal aggressively with any such report."

This comes after a mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas, left 21 people dead, including 19 children and two teachers, as well as the suspected gunman.