A desperate member of the public sought refuge in a Birmingham secondary school after hiding from a ‘gunman’. It prompted Heartlands Academy to enter a full lockdown for over an hour this afternoon.
West Midlands Police confirmed a man had gone into the school in Nechells believing another man outside had a gun. The school then followed their policy and lockdown took effect.
Parents were unable to collect their children from the school after the incident at around 3pm today, Monday, May 9. The children were released just after 4.30pm – about one hour and 20 minutes after the school day should have ended.
READ MORE: ‘Queue chaos’ at Birmingham Airport as holidaymakers forced to wait outside
Police said they stepped up patrols. No arrests were made. CCTV is being examined to establish what happened and inquiries are ongoing.
One parent – a dad-of-two – said he was in the dark about what had happened. He told BirminghamLive: “I was told it was something suspicious and because of that they had to keep the kids in the school.”
His teenage son added: “We were inside the Academy for an hour until it was safe to come out. We just stayed in class.”
A police spokeswoman told BirminghamLive: “Heartlands Academy went into lockdown this afternoon, as per the school’s policy, after a member of the public sought refuge from a man whom he believed had a gun.
“Officers immediately stepped up patrols and are studying CCTV to establish what happened. No-one was injured.”
The school was unavailable for comment.
Stay up to date with the very latest from your Birmingham or West Midlands street or neighbourhood with our Birmingham News Email Updates.
