“The building is now in lockdown.” The loudspeaker announcement at Scarsdale Middle School on April 2nd, 1:55 pm sounded just like any other lockdown drill—except that it was unplanned. It was later discovered that a technical malfunction in the security system triggered the lockdown announcement. Still, around half of the student body and faculty did not immediately know that it was a false alarm, and during the lockdown, it at times appeared as if it were not a drill. “There were two sides to this. [Fountain house] was told there was a lockdown, but that it was only a mechanical malfunction. The [other houses] had no idea. They were really scared. Some kids broke down crying and some of the teachers moved furniture to block the door,” said Lucas Heidbreder ’25.

Although some of the children and faculty were afraid, SMS Principal Meghan Troy reported in an email after the emergence that the students were “responsive and followed all directions,” and that she was “very proud of the students and how they handled themselves during this situation.” 

After the police officers thoroughly searched and cleared the building, the lockdown ended at around 3:45 pm. As a result of the lockdown, all SMS students were released at around 4:00 pm, an hour and a half after the usual 2:36pm departure time. This resulted in extremely worried parents and a messy traffic situation all around the school and throughout Scarsdale, which ultimately led to bus delays at the elementary schools and SHS.