SALEM (WINA) – UPDATE: A lockdown at the Burton Center for Arts & Technology in Roanoke County has been lifted with Roanoke County and Salem police saying there was no danger at the school. The Roanoke County school system’s website said the lockdown was prompted after “a sound similar to gunfire.”
The school is close to the VA Medical Center in Salem, and a witness happened to be leaving the VA center and told Captain Bob Abbott of WINA’s “Coming Home Well” there were students walking away from the school with hands on their heads… and the school system says they were taken briefly to the Salem Civic Center. Those students have since returned to school.
School leaders say the lockdown and evacuation was a precaution, and all students and staff are safe. No word on what the noise was, but the center is in a busy part of Salem.
ORIGINAL STORY:
A Roanoke County specialty education center is locked down due to “a report of a sound that was similar to gunfire” heard in the vicinity. The county school’s website says the lockdown is being done as a precaution. The site is the Burton Center for Arts & Technology in Salem, close to the VA Medical Center. In fact, a witness emerging from the VA Medical Center near the school tells Bob Abbott of WINA’s “Coming Home Well” that he saw students being evacuated from the school with hands on their heads.
A notification on the website says:
” As a precaution, the Salem and Roanoke County police have responded. All students and staff are safe. This is as precaution. Parents, please do not come to the Burton campus. As we have more information we will keep you informed.”
