Authorities have reported that a high school teacher engaged in a strange hoax, injuring herself with a razor, which prompted an emergency lockdown over concerns that a student may have stabbed her.
Nicole Truelove, 53, a social studies teacher at Splendora High School near Houston, is believed to have inflicted the injury on herself and then activated the emergency alert on Thursday morning.
As word spread, parents arrived at the school, overwhelmed with anxiety over the false notion that a “student had stabbed a teacher.” Consequently, the entire school was put on lockdown.
However, after reviewing surveillance footage and interviewing students, both the school administration and the local sheriff’s office confirmed that no students were involved in the incident.
“The injuries sustained by the teacher were self-inflicted,” stated Chief Deputy Rick Bass of the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office.
He also mentioned, “There is evidence to support that this is a hoax.” Truelove’s motivations remain unclear, and authorities have not revealed the extent of her injuries.
Having joined the school only a year ago, she has since been charged with felony tampering with evidence and false reporting.
Despite no students being harmed, the scare led to panic and distress among parents and students alike. Kelly Garcia, an 18-year-old fourth-grader, recounted, “I called my mom, and she started crying and said, ‘I can’t tolerate this.’”
Garcia described the chaotic scene, stating, “I saw all the kids running backwards, and the teachers yelling at us to get inside.” Her mother, Casey Shaw, added that her daughter was directed into a classroom that wasn’t hers and instructed to turn off the lights and hide in a corner. “She saw the teacher stacking chairs against the door to keep anyone from coming in,” Shaw noted.
Splendora Independent School District Superintendent Dustin Bromley addressed the unsettling incident, calling it “very unfortunate.” He clarified, “After reviewing the video footage and interviewing students and staff, law enforcement has determined that no students were involved and that the staff member’s injuries were self-inflicted.”
Bromley also emphasized that reports circulating online about a student stabbing a teacher were false and confirmed that the teacher had been arrested and removed from campus.
