SPRINGDALE — Parson Hills Elementary School students were kept inside Thursday after a parent made threats, according to authorities. There was no lockdown.
“We had a safety concern from a disgruntled adult in the area of the school,” said Rick Schaeffer, Springdale School District communications director. “The police were summoned and the situation was resolved.”
The 30-year-old parent made threats earlier in the week to take a gun and "shoot up the school," according to a Springdale Police Department news release. He was in Portland, Ark., on Thursday and checked in with the local sheriff’s office to confirm his location, according to the release.
A call was made to police at 7:55 a.m. Thursday concerning terroristic threats, according to dispatch records. A child told school officials her father threatened to shoot up the school halls after her mother asked the father to pay child support. The child’s aunt also reported the threats, according to the records.
The man denied the threats, saying the child and aunt misunderstood him, according to the records.
Several police officers were at the school, including school resource officers, according to police records. A resource officer from another school stayed at Parson Hills, at 2326 Cardinal Drive, for the entire day, Schaeffer said.
No arrests have been made in connection with the incident, said Lt. Derek Hudson, Springdale Police Department public information officer.
The Fayetteville School District also stationed a student resource officer at Holcomb Elementary School, 2900 N. Salem Road, said Sgt. Craig Stout, Fayetteville Police Department public information officer.
The parent had a distant relationship with the Fayetteville school, Stout said, so extra precautions were taken. No threats were made to the school, he said.