Students attending Princeton’s homecoming dance were forced to leave early following alleged threats of an active shooter.

The incident took place Saturday, Sept. 10 during the ninth through twelfth grade dance held at Lovelady High School. Princeton police responded to a call about an alleged gun related threat.

Police said the event was closed early and district officials added that everyone was evacuated safely.

At 10:55 p.m. Princeton ISD notified the public about the incident via a Facebook post.

Parents commenting on social media, claimed there were gunshots, spiked drinks and the evacuation was not orderly. They also indicated that they would keep children out of school Monday, Sept. 12.

Superintendent Donald McIntyre issued a news release Sunday, Sept. 11 to address several claims made by parents. 

“We believe we have the responsibility now to dispel the misinformation that is rampant and being shared across social media.,” McIntyre said.

Communications Coordinator Jean Ann Collins said some of the misinformation was circulated by parents and in a separate student petition. 

Both Princeton ISD officials and police said they “were unable to substantiate the information” of an active shooter threat in a Sept. 11 news release from the Princeton Police Department. 

The police department said there were no injuries. McIntyre added no gunshots were fired and no weapon was found at Lovelady High School Saturday night. There was also no evidence that any of the drinks at the dance were drugged, police said.

Collins said the district is continuing to speak with students about the incident. Parents or students should reach out to a campus administrator.

At Lovelady High School, they can reach out to Principal Javonna Bass at [email protected] or Principal Clint Sadler at Princeton High School by emailing [email protected]. 

“Student safety remains a top priority, and we want our students and families to feel safe in the school environment,” Collins said. “We take these situations seriously and are doing our best to investigate the matter to the fullest extent.”

On social media, several parents said they plan to speak at the upcoming school board meeting to seek answers from the school board.

Additionally, McIntyre said that the district planned to have an extra law enforcement presence on both high school campuses Sept. 12.

Two residents came forward during the Sept. 12 council meeting, asking the city to do a better job in its communication of what happened Saturday night.

Lilli Skellen, a senior at Princeton High School, said the characterization of events in the police’s press release was not accurate.

“When I was there, I just saw students scatter and was told to run because they told me someone had a gun,” Lilli said. “To say it was safely evacuated was dishonest.”

She said there were no adults directing an evacuation effort and some students were left traumatized by the events Saturday night. In the future, Lilli said she wants better planning to arrange security for all high school dances, similar to the arrangements for prom.

Monika Welch, Lilli’s mother, said she wanted the police to be more transparent about the incident, adding that it is the only way to try and fix the mistakes in communication.

“Several of our children were traumatized Saturday night and nobody is owning that,” Welch said. “For the city to post that the event was safely evacuated could not be further from the truth; there were children hiding in ditches.”

Both police and district officials have said the investigation remains ongoing. 

“We are providing the police department with any information we receive. We are still talking to students as we hear they may have information,” Collins said. “As of this morning, we still have no students who witnessed a gun or gunfire, despite claims on social media.”

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