Grady schools locked down after receiving threat

Grady Schools was put in lockdown for approximately three-and-a-half hours Monday after a school board member received a threatening text message.

“It was reported that a Grady school board member had received a text message indicating that a shooting would occur and that bombs had been planted at the school facility,” according to a news release from the Curry County Sheriff’s Office.

Grady Schools Superintendent Ted Trice said school administration placed the campus on lockdown status about 9:20 a.m. and later the students and staff were evacuated out of the building.

“We took all the safety precautions and we were out of the building in less than two minutes,” Trice said. “A (sheriff’s) deputy was with the students and staff at the evac center during the search.”

Trice said a school board member showed him the text message and he decided to call 9-1-1.

It is the second time in a little more than a month that Grady Schools was placed on lockdown. On Sept. 10, high school Principal Alicia Rush said she received a text that stated there were illegal drugs and guns in the school.

No guns or drugs were found during a search that lasted an hour and half.

A sweep of the campus Thursday by sheriff’s deputies, New Mexico State Police officers and Cannon Air Force Base K9 officers found no explosive devices.

Trice said the reason the lockdown took longer was because it took longer to get state police officers and the K9 officers to the school.

An investigation into the source of the threat is on-going according to Curry County Undersheirff Wesley Waller.

Grady Municipal Schools is located in one building, Trice said.

The school has 133 students in K-12 this year, according to Trice.