MUSKOGEE, Okla. -- Angie Wheeler wasn't worried when she sent her 8th grader to school on Thursday.
But by the afternoon her son texted a picture of an empty classroom, saying his classmates were picked up after a threat began to circulate.
After campus police arrested two boys for passing a gun back and forth Wednesday, students began saying another person was coming back to finish the job.
"I think you should take every threat to be legitimate. If you don't, then that's the problem. You have to take them serious, I don't know what else to do," Wheeler said.
Other parents wanted to keep students in class, saying their child was safe on campus.
"Found out that some kids sent a text to other kids saying "if we say this we can go home." They're 7th and 8th graders trying to figure out how they can go home. When I was talking to some of them they were like "no I need to go home so I can go back to sleep!" Campus Chief of Police Dan Hall said.
Parents are frustrated they didn't learn of the incident until after school on Wednesday. Officers said that's because they were facing a network error with the robocall system, and they wanted to handle the situation before creating a scare.
"We want to isolate the situation, make sure there's no other threats, before we have 800 parents trying to embark on a school... as you see today with just a mild threat," Hall said.
Students think about 75 percent of campus left on Thursday. Now officers are investigating to determine why a gun was brought to school in the first place.
Stay in touch with us anytime, anywhere.
Download our free app for Apple and Android and Kindle devices.
Sign up for newsletters emailed to your inbox. Select from these options: Breaking News, Severe Weather, School Closings, Daily Headlines and Daily Forecasts.
