The school was on lockdown following a reported assault on a teacher, according to the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office.
Police responded to an incident that led to a lockdown at Splendora High School on Thursday morning, according to Splendora ISD.
The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office said the incident involved a reported physical assault on a teacher, but investigators later determined the report was a hoax and that the teacher’s injuries were self-inflicted.
After a while, authorities said the scene was secured, and there was no threat to students or the general public. Officials also confirmed that no students were injured.
The teacher was identified as 53-year-old Nicole Truelove, who was charged with filing a false report and felony tampering with evidence, the sheriff’s office said. Investigators said she stabbed herself with a razor blade and then pressed a panic button.
“During the investigation, it was determined that there was no assault on a teacher that was committed by a student. The injuries sustained to the teacher were self-inflicted. Evidence supports that this was a hoax,” Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office Asst. Chief of Operations Rick Bass said.
Truelove’s motive is unknown.
Investigators said the panic alarm was triggered around 8:45 a.m., prompting an immediate lockdown of the campus. The school was later moved to a “secure hold” around 9:50 a.m. as the investigation continued.
The district said a secure hold means students remained in classrooms while hallways were kept clear. Instruction continued as scheduled.
Students were not released during the investigation.
“I called my mom, and she started crying, like, it was just unacceptable,” student Kelly Garcia said.
Garcia, an 18-year-old senior, said she was scared when the campus went into lockdown. She said it was chaotic.
“Just to see all the kids running the opposite way and the teachers yelling at all of us to get into a room,” Garcia said.
Parents said students inside the school were confused and scared as staff quickly moved them into classrooms during the lockdown.
Casey Shaw, a parent, described what her child experienced inside the building.
“Next thing she knows, she was grabbed by another teacher and pulled into a classroom that was not one of hers and was told to stand in the corner with the lights off. She said that she had seen the teacher start to stack the chairs in front of the door to make sure that no one could enter the room,” Shaw said.
Another parent, Tallonie Richardson, said students were panicked as they tried to understand what was happening.
“They said that they were panicking. They were scared because they didn’t know what was going on,” she said. “They were pushing them into classrooms that they didn’t know where they were.”
When the lockdown was lifted, parents questioned why their kids were still at the campus.
“You need to let these children go home with their parents because these kids are distraught, they’re scared, they’re nervous, they want to go home,” Richardson said.
School district officials said they followed their protocols.
“The lockdown seemed appropriate at that time, until we could get to the point where we were leaning toward self-inflicting and there was not an actual situation,” Splendora ISD Superintendent Dustin Bromley said.
Eventually, parents who wanted to pick up their kids early were allowed to do so.
School officials said counselors were made available to students, and a reunification plan allowed parents to pick up their children. Classes and normal activities later resumed on campus.
District officials said Truelove joined the district about a year ago and no flags came up during the hiring process.
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