It was a sight that would alarm any student or parent -- a school lockdown, complete with police searching every car that pulled into Glen Rose Public Schools in Hot Spring County this morning.
Superintendent Nathan Gills said the extra precautions stemmed from a conversation between a student and police last night -- a conversation about two sophomore boys recently expelled for the semester.
"One young man led them to believe that maybe two guys were going to bring weapons to school this morning and shoot someone," Gills said.
Many students and parents too scared to talk on camera spoke of a "hit list" produced by the boys -- a list of students who according to the boys, "needed to be dealt with."
"In our investigation," Gills said, "we have not found a hit list. I have asked the students, if they know of one, to let us know about it."
At about 11 a.m., good news came from the Hot Spring County Sheriff Ron Ball, and the lockdown was relaxed.
"We have located the two that we were hunting for," Ball said. "They are on their way to the sheriff's
department where they will be interviewed by our officials and state police."
But many students and parents remained frightened that the threats were more than teenage fantasy.
"Teenagers will talk, and they'll tell each other stuff that they won't tell adults," Margaret, a grandmother of a high school student, said. She spoke on the condition that her last name not be used. "If you've got boys saying that they'll do stuff, they don't take it lightly."
"It just kind of hit me how crazy people can be in situations," Glen Rose senior Ryndi Lawrence said, "how it all blows out of control -- I would never think this could happen at a homey school like Glen Rose." Lawrence did not attend school today because of the scare.
Later in the afternoon, Sheriff Ron Ball said the two boys had talked to investigators, and had been released into the custody of the parents. Ball said investigators and school officials would compare notes, and pass along their information to the county prosecutor. By the beginning of next week, Ball said, the county prosecutor will decide if charges will be filed.
