MILFORD, Del.- Milford Police say investigators have obtained a warrant for Thomas Caffrey for harassment charges stemming from the incident that occurred on March 7th involving the Milford School District.
Milford School District closed Friday after Milford High School was placed in a "soft lockdown" yesterday according to the Police Department and Milford School District.
In a social media post released close to 5:30 p.m. Thursday, March 7th, the Milford School District said a credible threat had been made toward the school district and offices. The District says the threat did not pertain to their elementary schools but dismissal was delayed at their secondary campus until the Milford Police could ensure the safe exit of students and staff.
All after school activities were cancelled Thursday evening.
Milford police told WBOC there was no immediate threat to the public but could not say when the lockdown would be lifted.
The Milford School District said Thursday they were working on the situation and confirmed the lockdown to WBOC, but had no further comment and did not provide additional details.
Student Jahmar Austin said Thursday's lockdown lasted nearly an hour.
"It was around 40 minutes, I think, and I don't know, it was scary at first because I thought something was really going to happen."
Austin said the reason is still unclear, though.
"They just told us to hide in the classroom and turned the lights off," he explained.
On Friday morning, the Milford School District announced the closure of the entire district due to "further concerns related to the credible threat" to the district.
"District leadership will continue to debrief this situation and reflect upon our procedures and communications working directly with all community and safety resources," Milford School District said in a Facebook post Friday. "We continue to ask for your patience and cooperation allowing the district to communicate and provide direction as needed."
Some parents believe the district handled things as best they could while others said more communication would have been appreciated.
"I feel like the school should reach out to the parents more frequently because that is kind of dangerous if the kids and the parents don't know what is going on that can cause even more anxiety," said Makayla of Milford.
She said she supports the district's decision to keep kids out of the classroom today.
"The schools definitely made the right call because that is so scary."
On Friday, police confirmed the lockdown and closures were related to a man connected with terroristic threats made within city limits Thursday. Police are still looking for the man, 59-year-old Thomas Caffrey from Lincoln, Del. as of Friday evening.
Anyone with information regarding Mr. Caffrey's whereabouts it asked to contact the department.
