4 Forest schools put on modified lockdown

Four Bedford County schools were locked down for about two hours Tuesday after a report of an off-campus assault near Jefferson Forest High School. Sheriff’s deputies later were unable to substantiate the report.

Bedford County Public Schools spokesman Ryan Edwards said the “modified lockdown” began about 10 a.m. and was lifted about 12:15 p.m.

Parents were notified about the situation through an automated phone call.

Thomas Jefferson Elementary, Forest Elementary, Jefferson Forest High School and Forest Middle School were all on “modified lockdown, level 1 status,” meaning students could move from class to class but the schools’ entrances were locked and guarded.

“Nothing has happened in our schools or on our school grounds,” Edwards said.

He declined to talk about specifics.

Authorities received a report about 9:40 a.m. that a student had been “assaulted with a weapon” by a black male in his 30s wearing a gray hoodie and black pants, according to a news release from the Bedford County Sheriff’s Office. The incident was in the Forest area in the general area of Jefferson Forest High School, according to the release.

The four schools were placed on lockdown minutes later because the reported attacker was on foot, according to the release, but the lockdown was later lifted because the incident could not be substantiated.

The investigation is continuing and at no time were students in immediate danger, the release stated.

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