Mandeville High placed on lockdown after shooting threat hoax

Police chief says response was ‘spot on’ and no danger was found

MANDEVILLE — Mandeville High School was placed on lockdown just before 1 p.m. Wednesday after an anonymous caller claimed someone was on their way to commit a shooting at the school, according to Mandeville Police Chief Todd Schliem.

Police and fire crews responded immediately, securing the campus alongside school officials under the city’s standard emergency procedures. The threat was later determined to be a hoax, Schliem said.

“We were able to secure the facility and determined there was no active threat,” Schliem told Mandeville Daily on Friday. “We train for this all the time. Our response was absolutely spot on.”

Schliem praised school administrators and the St. Tammany Parish School Board for their coordination during the incident. Parents reported on social media that the school district’s emergency messaging system was used to alert parents about the lockdown.

“We could not have a better working relationship than we do with the school district,” Schliem said. “Our level of cooperation and working hand in hand with the school district is fantastic.”

Students were released at their normal dismissal time, though officers maintained a presence around the campus for the remainder of the day as a precaution, he added.

“You can never plan for all scenarios,” Schliem said, “but I feel we were in a good spot yesterday.”

Similar hoax threats were reported around the same time at schools in Ponchatoula and Hammond. Schliem declined to discuss specific tactical procedures but emphasized that his department followed standard protocol throughout the response.

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