The Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Office (TPSO), in collaboration with the Tangipahoa Parish School System, is continuing to investigate a threat made toward Ponchatoula High on Wednesday.
Around lunchtime, a caller to an area law enforcement agency made a vague threat about a shooting at the school.
The TPSO was immediately engaged and their response partnership with local law enforcement and the school district was activated. The response included Ponchatoula Police and Fire Departments, Hammond Police, the Southeastern Louisiana University (SLU) Police’s bomb-detection K-9 team, U.S. Customs helicopter for air support, and Acadian Ambulance for medical emergencies. Multiple divisions of TPSO were also on campus within minutes including Criminal Investigations, Patrol, Narcotics, and K-9 teams.
The Student Resource Officer (SRO) assigned to Ponchatoula High had already been on site as assigned when the call came in. The precautionary measures taken by these teams quickly secured the campus and, within 2 ½ hours, cleared all aspects of the response plan related to this type of threat.
It was confirmed there was never an imminent threat on the school grounds.
During this time, all students and classes remained safe and learning continued.
As the investigation into this threat and the source of the call continues, TPSO and the Tangipahoa School System want to ensure all families that any threats will be taken seriously and those responsible for disrupting will be held accountable. The TPSO and the Tangipahoa School System thank the community for its cooperation, patience, and confidence during this incident. Today’s classes and extracurricular activities at Ponchatoula High School are all on their regular schedules. As a reminder, you can share information about crimes, suspicious or even concerning activities in schools through Crime Stoppers of Tangipahoa’s tip line at 1-800-554-5245 or visit www.tangicrimestoppers.com and click on the P3 Tips icon or Submit A Tip! You can provide this information anonymously.
