Hold lifted on West De Pere and De Pere school districts after police investigate threat

DE PERE — Holds at all buildings in the both the De Pere School District and West De Pere School District are lifted, after the De Pere Police Department investigated a threat Friday morning.

In what the police department is calling an abundance of caution, it asked the district to secure its buildings as it investigated a phone call "threatening the safety of our local students, schools, and police department," according to the department's Facebook page.

The threat was generally directed to De Pere, and no specific school building was identified.

"In our investigation, we were able to establish certain details of the call were not accurate. We provided an update to our schools, allowing them to return to their normal activities," the police department's social media post said.

In the De Pere School District, students and staff were on "an instructional hold," meaning they remained in their classrooms, a district email said. In West De Pere, students were on a "soft lockdown" while police investigated a "vague threat," according to the district's email.

Schools in the GRACE Catholic School System were also placed on a hold while police investigated, according to the department's Facebook page.

Police plan to have additional officers near schools in the area for release later today out of an abundance of caution.

Danielle DuClos is a Report for America corps member who covers K-12 education for the Green Bay Press-Gazette. Contact her at dduclos@gannett.com. Follow on Twitter @danielle_duclos. You can directly support her work with a tax-deductible donation at GreenBayPressGazette.com/RFA or by check made out to The GroundTruth Project with subject line Report for America Green Bay Press Gazette Campaign. Address: The GroundTruth Project, Lockbox Services, 9450 SW Gemini Drive, PMB 46837, Beaverton, Oregon 97008-7105.

This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Holds lifted at West De Pere and De Pere school districts after threat