Knox Academy in Haddington in lockdown with pupils shut in classrooms after teenager seen with BB gun

Parents of children who attend Knox Academy in Haddington received an email from the school at 10.15am on Friday, February 21, stating that the school was ‘in lockdown’.

The email, signed by the school’s senior management team and seen by the Edinburgh Evening News, said: “The school is in lockdown. Please do not be too concerned. We will be in touch as soon as possible with an update.”

One woman, a grandparent of two pupils at the school, said her family was left very concerned by the lack of information in the email.

“We heard reports that police were standing outside the school so my daughter is away up there now,” she said. “We heard that kids were locked in classrooms but no one is saying anything else right now.”

Knox Academy in East Lothian was locked down after a teenager was seen with a BB gun | Google Maps

An anxious mother said she had received bits of information from fellow parents but had largely been left in the dark by the school. She said: “Concerned parents have no idea what is going on apart from that all our kids are locked in classrooms. Lights are off and police are there and we’ve heard there’s an intruder in the school.”

A Police Scotland spokesman confirmed that officers were called to the school shortly before 10am following reports of a teenager in possession of a BB gun.

She said: “Around 9.55am on Friday, February 21, police were called to a secondary school in Haddington following a report of a youth in possession of what was believed to be a BB Gun in the grounds of the school.

"A 15-year-old youth has been arrested and enquiries are continuing. There is no ongoing threat to the school nor the public."

A spokesman for East Lothian Council, which runs Knox Academy, said: “We can confirm that Police were called to Knox Academy in Haddington this morning as we had reports of a pupil in the grounds of the school with what appeared to be a BB Gun.

“School staff quickly followed established procedures and the school was placed in ‘lockdown’ to ensure the safety of all pupils and staff while Police Scotland responded to the incident.

“Parents were informed via our GroupCall system that a lockdown was in place but that pupils were safe. We were able to reassure parents shortly afterwards that the incident had been dealt with and that pupils were all safe and had been released for their morning break.”