Last night, the Hauraki Plains College Board sent a letter to parents alerting them to a new threat and thanking them for their “patience and trust” during the earlier one.
“This evening, the school received another threat. While we are unable to verify its legitimacy at this time, the details have been provided to the police, and we are awaiting further instruction.
“Out of an abundance of caution, a decision has been made to close the school for instruction on Friday.
“This closure will allow the school to work with police and ensure absolute assurance of safety before reopening.”
Waikato Police said they were “not aware of any new threat having been made relating to the school” and deferred questions back to the school.
The school provided more details to parents last night about the initial threat, and addressed concerns about how it was handled.
“In response, we immediately consulted with the police and followed their expert direction. For the safety of our students and staff, the police controlled the nature of communications from the school, which meant that we were restricted in what we could share at the time.”
The letter says police questioned a person of interest who lived outside of the region of the school, so police advised it was “not necessary to enter a full lockdown at the college”.
The board acknowledged that some parents did not receive the emergency text message at the time of the incident.
Yesterday, police said they were speaking to a young person about the incident.
“We acknowledge that this has been an unsettling event and we thank the community for their understanding while it was resolved,” said the spokesperson.
In a text to parents just after 12pm, the school’s principal said there had been a threat and police were handling the situation.
“We are appropriately managing the risk. Some parents have collected their students, and you can do so via the main office.
“I will update you as soon as I have more information.”
Hauraki Plains College confirmed a threat had been made to the school in a statement to the Herald.
“School received a potential threat. Police have dealt with the matter. No lockdown required.”
The school told the Herald it had followed the advice of both police and the Ministry of Education.
Jaime Lyth is a multimedia journalist for the New Zealand Herald, focusing on crime and breaking news. Lyth began working under the NZ Herald masthead in 2021 as a reporter for the Northern Advocate in Whangārei.
