Students at Ithaca High School were given the all-clear at about 11am after an hour and a half in lockdown on Thursday morning, sitting in the gym or hiding in closets with faculty members, according to parents and family members who spoke to 14850 Today.

Police were at the scene “investigating the complaint of suspicious activity,” the Ithaca Police Department told us earlier this morning. Students have been told there may be a gun on the property, possibly in a car.

Ithaca City School District policy references the Federal Government’s Gun-Free Schools Act of 1994 in prohibiting students from bringing firearms onto school property or possessing them in school.

An Ithaca City School District spokesperson confirmed the lockdown has been lifted, and told us, “There was never a threat of any kind against the school or any individual.”

It was nearly an hour after the lockdown was lifted before parents were informed by district personnel that anything unusual had occurred at the school this morning. Most heard about the incident via texts from their kids or news media reports, primarily from 14850 Today and the Ithaca Journal.

District superintendent Dr. Luvelle Brown and district staff did not respond to a question about the school’s decision not to tell parents about the lockdown until long after it was over.

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