UPDATE: Columbia High School Principal Elizabeth Aaron announced to students and staff at 2:10pm that some students coming back from their lunch break claimed that a student appeared to have a weapon. That student was located and was allegedly in possession of a toy weapon. Aaron announced that the student was removed from school and could face legal consequences under New Jersey state law. The student, a ninth grader, was arrested and will be sent to the Essex County Juvenile Detention Center in Newark, according to Maplewood Police.
Original Report:
Maplewood, New Jersey: The most recent code yellow shelter-in-place lockdown at Columbia High School in Maplewood has concluded. It lasted Thursday afternoon from 12:14pm to 12:34pm during period 6.
During a shelter-in-place lockdown, classes can continue, but students and staff must remain in their classrooms. Several students were outside of the building on their lunch break during the shelter-in-place. Maplewood Police Department officers were present at the scene.
400 students from other high schools had just been dismissed from an assembly in the school's auditorium.
There was another code yellow shelter-in-place lockdown at Columbia High School in November after a student allegedly threatened to post a video of a school shooting on Instagram. That student was charged as a juvenile with making terroristic threats. The high school was also locked down this past June and in November, 2014 after students were accused of bringing weapons to school.
UPDATE: The student arrested during the most recent lockdown has been charged as a juvenile with possession of an imitation firearm, false public alarm, terroristic threats, aggravated assault, and possession of a weapon in an educational institution.