New Iberia Senior High Locked Down, Weapon Recovered During Incident

NEW IBERIA, La. (KPEL News) - A New Iberia High School was locked down during an incident on campus that led to law enforcement recovering a loaded weapon.

At 11:32 a.m., the New Iberia Police Department was called to New Iberia Senior High over an incident on campus. School administrators and the School Resource Officer were able to quickly get the situation under control, according to the New Iberia Police Department.

While there is no longer a threat on campus, the report continued, law enforcement will be present on the campus for the rest of the day.

According to the Daily Iberian, the incident and lockdown were due to a student being on campus with a loaded weapon.

"Following a report of a student on campus with a loaded weapon, NISH has gone on lockdown this afternoon," their report stated. "Police report the student is now in custody. The New Iberia Police is working in coordination with the Iberia Parish School Board to further investigate today's incident. Due to the student being a minor, the student's identification is being withheld."

School Lockdowns Continue to Plague Acadiana

This is just the latest lockdown in the Acadiana region as schools and law enforcement continue to deal with threats and other issues on campus amid growing concerns over school safety.

Last week, St. Landry Parish had to deal with two threats at Beau Chene High School in one day, followed by a third threat the very next day.

In November, the school was placed in lockdown after another threat was discovered on campus. That incident also involved a bomb threat written on a bathroom wall, which was discovered by school officials at the time.

Prior to that, in October, a similar situation occurred. This one, also written on a bathroom wall, threatened that there would shooting at the school later that week.

Lafayette Parish has also seen its share at several schools. On October 10, Paul Breaux Middle School was placed under lockdown after a bomb threat was made. LPD has announced that a student from the school has been arrested and charged with terrorizing for the incident.

Earlier also during October, Lafayette High School saw multiple online threats made against various teachers, students, and even family members. After multiple lockdowns that took almost the full school day, law enforcement officials were eventually able to identify the students behind the threats.

A charge of terrorizing comes with a sentence of up to 15 years, fines of up to $15,000, or both, according to state law. There have been several students arrested for terrorizing this year as the Lafayette Parish School System and law enforcement have cracked down on those threats.