After-school activities canceled after Great Mills High School receives phone threat

After-school activities at Great Mills High School in St. Mary's County were canceled Tuesday after a threat was called in to the school, authorities say.

The St. Mary's County Sheriff's Office says the school's main office received an anonymous call around 2:59 p.m. after students were dismissed for the day and all buses had left school grounds. The caller told staff that he was on his way to carry out an act of violence.

School administrators informed the school resource officer and the school system's Department of Safety and Security about the phone threat and a "lockout" was initiated. Students participating in after-school activities went back into the school for their safety, officials say.

"Additional police units were dispatched as a precaution to secure the parking lot while all remaining students and staff left school grounds," the sheriff's office said in a news release.

The sheriff's office is investigating the threat.

This incident comes nearly two weeks after students were dismissed early when the school was placed on lockdown after reported sightings of a possible armed person in the area.

Back in March, 17-year-old Austin Rollins opened fire in a hallway at Great Mills that killed 16-year-old student Jaelynn Willey and wounded 14-year-old Desmond Barnes. Rollins died from a self-inflicted gunshot, authorities said.