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Each of the four was interviewed separately and "told the exact same story without wavering," Police Chief Michael Foligno said.
"They couldn't identify the student visually because it apparently happened between classes," Foligno said. "That's when the hallways are full of kids.
"All they could say was that the student had a black backpack and said he had a gun in it. They each were 100% confident that that's was what they heard."
Police and school officials reviewed security video. But with so many students moving at once, "you can't identify a potential suspect."
So they summoned a SWAT team and K9 unit to search the middle school section of the facility, which also houses the borough high school.
Then they cleared each classroom individually and walked the students down to the auditorium and the gym with their packs.
Police arranged the students in single file and inspected each of their backpacks "in a very systematic organized fashion, so that every one felt safe," said Foligno, who is also Elmwood Park's borough administrator.
The dogs "made indication on a couple of lockers that were being checked," he said.
Some individual students also were being interviewed with their parents, a source at the school said.
The lockdown was lifted at 2 p.m. and the day returned to relative normalcy.
"We believe it's now safe for everyone," Foligno told Daily Voice as that was being done. "We're going to continue our follow-up investigation
"We have to take these things very, very seriously," he added. "We want to make sure that everyone, students and staff, goes home safe at the end of the day. It's always better to err on the side of caution and do too much than too little -- because then it's too late."
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NO THREATS: Lockdowns at Hackensack and Waldwick ended quickly Thursday. Neither involved a threat, police in those towns said. A report of a gunman on the loose in New Milford -- which triggered a lockdown of all borough schools Thursday morning -- thankfully was proven unfounded, as well, Police Chief Brian Clancy said. READ MORE....
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