Threat puts five schools in lockout Thursday

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Five City School District of Albany schools went into a lockout for about 90 minutes Thursday morning due to an investigation of an unspecific bomb threat against South End schools.

Albany police notified the school district Thursday morning that they received a general threat to three schools in the South End. Police said the threat did not identify a specific school or schools.

The schools put lockout procedures in place as a precaution at about 8:45 a.m. while police investigated. The schools include Albany School of Humanities (ASH), Delaware Community School, Giffen Memorial Elementary School, Thomas O’Brien Academy of Science and Technology (TOAST) and William S. Hackett Middle School.

During a lockout, all activities continue as usual inside the building, but no one is allowed to enter or leave. 

All schools ended the lockout at about 10:15 a.m. on the advice of police and we resumed our normal operations. Albany police continue to investigate this matter.

The safety and security of students, faculty and staff is a top priority throughout the City School District of Albany. If you have any questions about Thursday’s incident, please contact your school principal.