the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Waldwick NJ, it appears that a false alarm set off a lockdown at Waldwick Middle School . This comes on the heels of heightened security do to a purported nationwide TikTok “challenge” that had many fearing school shootings.
Waldwick resident Dave Rohner, summed up the event in a Facebook post : In these times when Groups want to vilify our Police Departments, I want to Give Thanks for The Waldwick PD and All Police Officers!!!
Today, a threat came into our Police Department involving our Middle and High Schools. Our MS and HS immediately went into a Lockdown situation.
Because of the Preplanning of the Police Department and the School District a plan was in place and an immediate response came to our Community to assist!
Though a false alarm, the coordinated response of the Waldwick PD, Bergen County Police Departments, and the NJ State Police showed that these Men and Women are Heroes not Villains!!!
If you feel safe tonight; it’s because of these Men and Women, not a “Community Movement or Social Agenda”!!! Remember in this Holiday Season, when you’re Celebrating, there’s Our Police Departments that are leaving their families and their celebrations!!! God Bless Our Police, May God Watch Over Them, and Merry Christmas!!!
Dr. Paul Casarico Superintendent of Schools put out the following:
Dear Parents/Guardians:
This afternoon at dismissal, we experienced a malfunction of the security alarm which initiated lockdown procedures. Once the alarm is initiated, we immediately follow lockdown procedures which includes the Waldwick Police Department and other local police departments following their protocols. Once it was determined that there was no threat to our building and that the alarm was triggered due to a malfunction, the lockdown was ended and Mr. Carroll and Mr. Meyers coordinated pick up for the students that were in the building.
Obviously, this situation caused even more alarm in light of prior reported events related to today but we want to thank staff and students for their professionalism in dealing with this situation as well as cooperation from parents that were on site picking their children up. We would also like to thank the Waldwick Police Department and the many local police agencies for their quick response and efforts to ensure that our entire school community was safe.
We are aware that a lockdown can be traumatic for children, staff and parents. Please monitor your children over the weekend and contact us with any concerns or issues. We will be evaluating the alarm system to ensure that this does not happen again.
Have a good evening and enjoy your weekend
Dr. Paul Casarico
Superintendent of Schools
That’s Some coincidence
What amazes me is the number of towns and officers that Responded. I had one local officer tell me it would’ve been a perfect time for a smash and grab robbery at Garden State Plaza because all the Paramus police were police were in Waldwick!