Nearby shooting places Neuse Charter School on brief lockdown

All students and staff are safe Thursday after a Johnston County school was placed on a lockdown due to a nearby shooting.

Posted 8:23 p.m. Feb 29 — Updated 8:23 p.m. Feb 29

SMITHFIELD, N.C. — All students and staff are safe Thursday after a Johnston County school was placed on a lockdown due to a nearby shooting.

Around 2 p.m., Sky 5 flew over Neuse Charter School, located at 909 Booker Dairy Road in Smithfield. Law enforcement vehicles and parents were surrounding the school.

A spokesperson from Neuse Chater School told WRAL News the school was briefly placed on a "perimeter lockdown."

"There was no weapon on campus nor were our students or staff in any danger at any time," a statement read.

The first reports of the lockdown came shortly after police arrived to investigate a nearby shooting. Anxious parents immediately began arriving but were not permitted on the school property.

After receiving an automated message from the school, one parent, Christina Pollick, who has two elementary school aged children at the school, expressed her concern and frustration that the school did not identify what exactly had happened.

Pollick said she and other parents were outside the police perimeter "waiting on pins and needles making sure everyone was okay."

'My ex shot me': Man arrested in Delaware after girlfriend shot at Smithfield home

Suggest A Correction