LOVELAND, Colo. (KDVR) — It was just before 10 a.m. Wednesday when a Loveland parent received a text from her daughter, warning her there might be a shooting at Loveland High School.
That parent, who asked not to be identified, said it sent her into a panic.
“It was very scary,” she said. “Just thinking back on it, I didn’t know what to do.”
To make matters worse, she said her daughter’s teacher wasn’t in the classroom, as confusion spread throughout the school.
“A lot of them had chosen to not show up to school knowing there was a possible threat,” she said. “With the teachers leaving these kids there, essentially they were like sitting ducks.”
Safe2Tell tip warned of school shooting
According to Loveland Police, that Safe2Tell tip was received just after 8 a.m., warning of a planned school shooting. That thread turned out to be unfounded, but the district didn’t alert parents until just after 10 a.m. Wednesday.
By that point, students were already at school.
“I’m concerned how parents had to find out through Facebook, and some teachers knew to just not go to school,” the parent said.
In an email, a district spokesperson told FOX31, “It is accurate that a small number of teachers were not at their rooms at all times during this incident. The general disruption to the school day is what led to the decision to cancel classes.”
Additional questions regarding how many teachers were not in their rooms, and why students were left unattended, have gone unanswered.
FOX31 will continue to press the district for answers.