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An Auckland high school principal says a threatening email it received was “credible” and prompted police to sweep the school before children were sent home.

Police said two schools were targeted by “emails of a concerning nature” and forwarded to other organisations, resulting in Waiuku College going into lockdown before 9am. The email was also forwarded to numerous organisations and individuals.

Waiuku College principal Stuart Kelly would not comment on the nature of the threat, but said the school, alongside police and the Ministry of Education, deemed it “credible enough” to put the school in lockdown.

“We put them [the students] into lockdown in a safe and secure area that was swept,” Kelly said.

“The police then swept the remainder of the school and we received written confirmation that it was safe to return the students and in looking after the students’ health and wellbeing ... [we] made the decision to send the kids home.”

Waiuku College principal Stuart Kelly. Photo / Cherie Howie

Kelly said the Ministry of Education’s (MoE) Traumatic Incident team would be at the school tomorrow to support students and staff and address any concerns.

Isabel Evans, MoE Hautū (leader) Te Tai Raro (North), said she understood police were investigating the email.

“We are only aware of the one school that activated emergency management procedures and went into lockdown.

“Police were onsite this morning working with the school to respond to and manage the incident. We are confident that the school followed correct procedures,” Evans said.

“We understand that incidents like this are concerning for parents and the wider school community and that the school leadership team are providing updates through their official communication channels.

“The immediate priority is always the safety and wellbeing of students and staff.”

Students exit Waiuku College after the school was forced to close for the day following a threatening email. Photo / Cherie Howie

A parent, who wished to remain anonymous, told the Herald there was speculation about why the school went into lockdown, but no one had been given any information.

She said parents were told the students were safe and then she received a call from her daughter asking to collect her.

Her daughter said they were rushed into class at 9am, 15 minutes before the bell.

Then at 11am, students were made to go to their whānau classes where they were able to call their parents.

The mum said she assumed school ended for the day for the parent’s “peace of mind”.

Concerns about timeline of lockdown

It came after parents shared concerns that the school entered lockdown after many children had already arrived, despite the email being sent early this morning.

Another parent, who wished to remain anonymous, told the Herald police were in front of the school about 8am, well before class began.

Waiuku College is closed for the day. Photo / Chris Loufte

They said students and parents were not informed of the threat and were allowed to walk past police into class, before the school sent out alerts about the lockdown about 8.50am.

Waiuku College’s delay left “a lot of furious and worried parents”, and described the situation as “badly handled”, they said.

“They had at least an hour’s worth of time before classes started to contact families [and] keep kids home if they wanted to.”

Mother Amy Parker told the Herald she was “pi**ed off” that students had been taken into class while the school was under threat.

Her friend drove by the school during the lockdown and described police outside the high school with “massive guns” and parents parked at the adjacent medical centre in panic.

“No parent should feel like [their kids are] in the presence of an unsafe environment.”

Addressing criticism from parents, principal Stuart Kelly said he stood by the school’s actions.

“We acted as soon as we could … we couldn’t go into lockdown until we assessed it was a credible threat … [and] we were acting on the direction of the police – we can’t act unilaterally.”

He appreciated there were differing views, but said he had to think about the wellbeing of their school community of more than 1000.

”We did everything by the book,” Kelly said.

He’d sent an email to all parents explaining the school’s response.

Police investigating threatening emails sent to schools, media, Parliament

Police said they were investigating the “unsettling” emails sent to schools, news organisations and Parliament.

Threats were also made against specific police stations and the Beehive.

This morning at least one Auckland college was in lockdown and a second school had also been targeted by the threatening email.

A spokesperson told the Herald police made inquiries around the schools' area overnight.

Police are investigating the email as well as any credible threat related to it.

“We strongly advise against publicising the contents of this email.”

In response, police forces would be carrying out “reassurance patrols”.

“These sorts of emails are unsettling, but we reassure the public that appropriate action is being taken.”