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Police and school officials in Waldwick said that's what sent the school into emergency mode Friday afternoon, bringing the Bergen County Regional SWAT team and mutual aid support from neighboring towns -- while frightening some students, staff and especially parents.
"The system malfunction at 3:02 p.m., right after school let out," Police Lt. Thomas Dowling said. "Officers from surrounding towns along with the swat team helped in securing the building till the malfunction was confirmed."
Police eventually gave the all-clear to begin dismissing students shortly before 4:30 p.m.
The lockdown at the middle and high school "has been confirmed to be a malfunction of the system," Waldwick district officials told the community in a message.
They didn't confirm the source, which law enforcement sources said was a panic button in a vice principal's office. Nor did they address the initial belief that someone had gotten into the unoccupied office and tripped the alarm -- either accidentally or on purpose.
The incident comes on a day that was already fraught with apprehension over a nationwide TikTok "challenge" that had many fearing school shootings.
SEE: TikTok School-Shooting Threats Aren't Credible, Authorities Say
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