SCHNECKSVILLE, Pa. — Lehigh Career & Technical Institute closed Wednesday after receiving another threat to the state's anonymous tipline, Safe2Say Something.
It was the fourth day in a row the school has closed or been locked down because of threats of violence.
A statement posted on the LCTI website said state police conducted thorough searches on all three days and found no weapons, on-campus activity or other evidence to corroborate the threat reports.
Peggy Repasch's daughter Ariana is a full-day student at LCTI, studying criminal justice. Repasch said the 17-year-old is angry that, because of the unsubstantiated threats, she is not able to attend her classes.
"This is her senior year," Repasch said. "She's supposed to be enjoying her senior year and it's being destroyed by all of these lockdowns."
- LCTI is closed Wednesday after receiving another threat to the school
- It is the fourth day it has been closed or locked down
- State and federal law enforcement are investigating
The statement said state and federal authorities were investigating the reports, and false threats to the tipline would be prosecuted.
Allentown police announced Tuesday they have charged several youths with making false reports to the Safe2Say program over the last two weeks. Dieruff and William Allen high schools and Trexler Middle School were locked down Monday because of multiple anonymous tips of violent threats to the Allentown School District.
Several threats received Monday caused hundreds of students to walk from the LCTI school campus to a nearby Schnecksville firehouse. The school was locked down Tuesday after another threat was reported.
This past Friday, a bomb threat closed the campus. There was also a threat on Oct. 28.
The past few days have been trying for everyone in the LCTI community, especially students, parents and staff, the school statement also reported.
Repasch said she wanted more information from the Allentown School District, LCTI and police. An emailed request for comment to state police, Allentown School District and LCTI did not receive an immediate response. APD Police Chief Charles Roca referred questions about threats to LCTI to state police, saying it was outside of the city of Allentown and his jurisdiction.
"There are no answers from anybody on how they're going to solve any of these issues that are happening," Repasch said. "Not from the school district, not from LCTI, not from the state police, not from the police. Not from anybody."
Classes were in an asynchronous format for Wednesday.
The school provides instruction to 2,700 high school students from Lehigh County’s nine public school districts.
