Lockdown lifted at Parsippany Hills High School; report of gun unfounded

MORRIS PLAINS, N.J. (WABC) -- Police say a report that a gun may have been on school grounds prompted a lockdown Tuesday at the Parsippany Hills High School in New Jersey.

After police responded and conducted an investigation, the incident turned out to be unfounded and the lockdown was lifted.

Traffic had been diverted to prevent vehicles from driving onto Parsippany Hills High School property.

Some parents were annoyed that police didn't provide more information after saying the school was in lockdown.

In a written statement, the police department had this response: "We would like to thank you for your patience and understanding today. When a school lockdown is in effect, our normal procedure is to post an initial notification to inform the public that a lockdown is in effect. However, no details can be given at that time due to the ongoing investigation. Sometimes, as was the case today, we will post when the lockdown is lifted and details will still not be posted. We understand this is frustrating. However, please know that any incident is taken very seriously and we need to be absolutely positive that our information is accurate and the investigation is concluded before we post details."

Police also asked that in future incidents, social media viewers refrain from posting what they may have heard, saying this is often derived from rumor and could cause the circulation of misinformation.