Crime & Safety

Lockout Lifted at Chews Elementary School

A teenager was shooting a BB gun in a nearby backyard. The children were not in any danger.

Gloucester Township Police have determined children at Chews Elementary School were not in any danger after the school was placed in a lockout Tuesday morning due to a teenager shooting a rifle in a nearby backyard.

The school, located at 600 Somerdale Road, was placed under a lockout at 8:47 a.m. following reports of a teenager target shooting in a nearby backyard with a rifle.

A lockout is a procedure that secures the building perimeter from an external threat, while normal school activities occur inside the school.

The teenage juvenile who had been shooting a BB gun in his backyard was located. The lockout ended after about 25 minutes when police determined the children in the school were not in danger.

The investigation is ongoing.


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