An active shooter was reported Monday at a Massachusetts prep school, and local and state police were responding at the scene.
The situation began at St. John’s Prep, an all-boys Catholic school for grades 6 to 12 in Danvers, roughly 20 miles north of Boston. A prompt went live on the school’s website a little before 2 p.m. local time. It said that the report had emerged from the campus’ Benjamin Hall, resulting in a lockdown of the school with students sheltering in place.
“There has been a report of an active shooter on campus at Benjamin Hall,” the website’s statement read. “Danvers and State police are on site. Students, Faculty, and Staff are sheltering in place. We will further provide updates as soon as possible.”
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In a later tweet, the Massachusetts State Police confirmed that officers had been dispatched to the school. Upon arrival, they found no sign of a shooter and said the situation remains unclear.
At 1:49 PM several dozen Troopers and @DanversPolice responded to St. John’s Prep for report of a person with a gun at the school. Immediate entry made and no threats identified at this time. Teams doing secondary sweeps. We are aware of no injuries at this time. More to follow.
— Mass State Police (@MassStatePolice) May 22, 2023
“At 1:49 PM several dozen Troopers and [Danvers Police officers] responded to St. John’s Prep for [a] report of a person with a gun at the school,” the tweet said. “Immediate entry made and no threats identified at this time. Teams doing secondary sweeps. We are aware of no injuries at this time. More to follow.”
Newsweek reached out to the Danvers Police Department via email for comment.
This is a developing story and will be updated when more information becomes available.