OXFORD (WXYZ) — At Oxford Middle School Friday morning, students and teachers reportedly heard over the loudspeaker that there was an active dangerous threat in the building.
There were reports that teachers helped students take cover while other students left the building.
School officials said it was a false alarm of the ALICE Mass Notification System. Late Friday they issued the following update saying a power issue had led to the malfunction.
Dear Oxford Schools Community,
I am writing to provide an update on the false alarm that occurred this morning at Oxford Middle School. The alarm security company responded to OMS immediately to problem solve what occurred. It has been determined that the alarm had an irregular power draw causing the hardware to malfunction. The hardware that malfunctioned is currently in a temporary inactive state. The rest of the Mass Notification System is still functional. All physical connections have been removed from the hardware that has malfunctioned.
Within seconds of the alarm malfunctioning, an announcement was made informing students and staff that it was a false alarm. The alarm went off for about a minute before it was disabled. Administration, staff and representatives from the alarm company have met today and will continue meeting to help prevent this from happening again. Additionally, we have had inquiries about whether a drill was scheduled for today. To be clear, there was no drill scheduled.
The situation was activating for many of our students and staff, and additional supports were provided to OMS students and staff immediately. Also, on Monday, additional supports will be provided for students and staff at OMS. During first hour, there will be a structured restorative activity intended for students to process how this impacted them individually and as a school community. The district restorative practices coordinator will be present at this time along with other district mental health professionals.
If your child needs support over the weekend, there is a list of available support resources on our website: https://www.oxfordschools.org/wellness___recovery/support___recovery_resources_
Sincerely,Dr. Vickie L. Markavitch
ALICE (alert, lockdown, inform, counter, evacuate) is an active shooter response training system designed for schools and workplace environments.
The false alarm triggered the trauma from the deadly mass shooting at Oxford High School on Nov. 30, 2021.
In part of his statement to Oxford families, Oxford Middle School Principal Brad Bigelow wrote, "I wanted to tell you how incredibly sorry I am for this morning's false alarm that occurred at OMS. Our OMS staff is here to support your family in any capacity as we know this false alarm has impacted our school community. Our building administration, counselors and mental health staff are here to support you and your student in any way that we can."
Superintendent Dr. Vickie L. Markavitch released the following statement just after the incident occurred:
Dear Oxford Schools Community,
I am writing to inform you of a Mass Notification System/ALICE false alarm incident that occurred this morning at Oxford Middle School. A message was sent immediately to our OMS families.
We understand this could be activating to our entire community as word might spread. It was determined that there was no threat to students and staffs’ safety. We have mental health supports available for our students and staff. We have contacted our alarm security company who will determine the origin of the false alarm.
As always, safety of our staff and students is our top priority. If you have any questions, please contact me.
The situation comes just one day after the community marked two years since the deadly shooting at Oxford High School that left four students dead, six students and one teacher injured.
