San Marcos High School (SMHS) has released students after clearing the active threat lockdown on Sept. 24.

“We have zero reports of any injuries at all of any sort,” Les Stephens, San Marcos Fire Department fire chief said.

No shots were fired and no casings were found, according to Stephens. 

According to a San Marcos Consolidated ISD (SMCISD) press release, the report was a false threat. While students are cleared from the school, the investigation is still ongoing.

“SMCISD is working with the San Marcos Police Department (SMPD) to identify the individual that reported today’s false threat,” the press release stated. “Once the individual is identified, and if they are an SMCISD student, they will face consequences both at the district and criminal level.”

According to San Marcos Communications, a student called at 3:32 p.m. reporting they saw a male with a gun in the hallway. 

“We received a call earlier that came in through an admin line at the police department,” Stephens said. “We received a second notification that a student had observed someone with a gun.”

Sawyer Barnett, freshman at SMHS who was inside during the lockdown, said at first students were placed under a hold which means no one can enter or leave classrooms. However, after less than a minute, the hold shifted into a lockdown.

“We had a hold at first and I was thinking it was a little fire,” Barnett said. “Then, [the teacher] puts us in a corner and told us no phones, no Chromebooks, don’t make any noise.”

Inside the school, officers searched every room to clear them for the threat. 

“We have police officers that are in [the school] and they’re going room by room and searching everything to ensure it is clear,” San Marcos Fire Marshal Jonathon Henderson said.

At 4:40 p.m. SMPD confirmed that no shots were fired at SMHS according to the SMCISD press release.

Students were released from the school starting at 5:30 p.m., according to Stephens. Parents were able to pick up their kids and leave the school. 

According to the SMCISD cell phone policy, students are required to turn in phones to teachers while in the classroom, causing some frustration among parents and students with communication. 

“Some kids and their parents are in the dark because [parents] can’t get ahold of their kids,” parent Jessica Almanza said.

In this situation, students like Barnett were able to receive their phones and that’s how they got updates. 

“I saw stuff from my friends on Facebook about what was going on, all of the updates and stuff,” Barnett said. “We were all silent. We were talking through our phones, we typed something up and showed each other.”

For parent Jose Cruz, his son communicated with him regularly because he had access to his phone, calming Cruz’s anxiety.

“He texts me that there was a lockdown and I just told him to stay safe in his classroom,” Cruz said. “We’ve been texting back and forth since he told me there was a lockdown.”

Cruz said he hopes this situation will show SMCISD what they need to prioritize for students. 

“San Marcos only has one [public] high school,” Cruz said. “I feel for it to be safe, this whole facility should be gated all around the campus. You’re gonna spend over a million dollars on a stadium. Not everybody is about football.”

For parent Debra Falcon, this situation brought light to how serious gun violence can be for communities. 

“You hear this all the time and you think it would never happen here,” Falcon said. “[My daughter] texted me when all this happened and I haven’t been able to text her back because her phone died and I’m just scared.” 

According to SMCISD, Wednesday, Sept. 25 will continue as a regular school day for all students and staff. The school will provide additional law enforcement and counseling services.

This is a developing story. The University Star will provide updates.

Marisa Nuñez, Lucciana Choueiry, Ryan Claycamp and James Phillips contributed to this story.