A Maryland teacher falsely reported a mass-stabbing at her elementary school, and then took her 27 kindergarten students off-campus through the woods.
Around noon on Thursday, deputies in Frederick County received a call about multiple stabbings at Green Valley Elementary School in Monrovia, Maryland. They responded immediately, but found the school to be all quiet, with no injuries nor any apparent violence. School staff were mystified by the reports, but soon found that an entire class was missing.
Fortunately, it didn’t take authorities long to find the missing 27 four- and five-year-old students, as well as their teacher, in a nearby cafe. All students were accounted for, and immediately returned to their families and guardians.
As the incident was investigated, it was discovered that the Maryland teacher, who has not been identified to the media, tried to call the front office earlier in the day to get permission to take her students outside. She didn’t receive any response, and thought the school seemed ‘eerily quiet.’ Somehow, this led to her believing that a silent but violent emergency was taking place. She followed the school’s emergency management protocols, which include the “avoid strategy.”
Removing the students from the school property, she led them through the woods behind the school, having them remove bright-colored clothing as they want to be harder to spot. At the café, she had restaurant staff call 911 and report multiple stabbings, which she also repeated to dispatchers herself.
The school district is stressing that there was not any credible threat of violence made at the school.
“We are grateful that this was a non-credible threat, but we know that the experience was upsetting for the students involved and our community at large. We regret that this happened,” the school district added. They will be making mental health staff available to both students and staff in the wake of the incident.
The teacher was taken into custody and taken to a hospital for evaluation. There is no news of criminal charges or an arrest.
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