Sandy Hook School put on lockdown after threat. Police determine it was ‘not credible’

A threat made toward Sandy Hook School put the facility into lockdown Thursday morning.

Police at 9:15 a.m. were made aware through a third party of a threatening message regarding the school and dispatched officers to the building to conduct a search of the facility and the nearby area, according to the Newtown Police Department.

The building was put into lockdown while officers investigated, according to school officials. Lt. Scott Smith said in a statement that the search was conducted “out of an abundance of caution.”

Smith said police determined that the threat was not credible and that all students and staff were safe.

According to Smith, the threat was “similar to the ‘swatting’ incidents we often investigate.”

“We would like to thank our officers and Board of Education staff for their quick action and consistent professionalism in acting on our emergency procedures,” Smith said.

Sandy Hook was the site of the deadliest elementary school shooting in the nation’s history in 2012. Police said 20-year-old Adam Lanza killed 26 people, including 20 children and six adult staff members. Lanza had fatally shot his mother prior to the school shooting and died by suicide as officers responded to the school.