Police respond to reports of fire at Waiuku College days after email threat prompts lockdown

Police have responded to reports of fires at an Auckland high school just days after a threatening email prompted them to sweep the school before children were sent home.

Police said they responded to a report of two small fires at Waiuku College at around 11.45am today.

“Investigations are in the early stages and we are continuing to look into the circumstances surrounding the fires. However, they are not thought to be linked to any events earlier this week,” a spokesperson told the Herald.

Police and Fire and Emergency crews will stay at the school as they complete an examination of the scene.

Earlier this week, police said two schools were targeted by “emails of a concerning nature”, resulting in Waiuku College going into lockdown before 9am Wednesday. The email was also forwarded to numerous organisations and individuals, including media outlets and Parliament.

Waiuku College was hit by two small fires just days after a threatening email prompted police to sweep the school. Photo / Chris Loufte

Waiuku College principal Stuart Kelly would not comment on the nature of the threat, but said the school, alongside police and the Ministry of Education, deemed it “credible enough” to put the school in lockdown.

Yesterday, a man and woman were taken into custody after police executed a search warrant at a Māngere East address as part of the investigation into the incident.

The 20-year-old man was charged with a firearms offence in relation to a firearm located at a different property.

He was expected to appear in the Manukau District Court today charged with unlawful possession of a firearm. Police said further charges are likely to be laid as a result of the search warrant.

Waiuku College students were forced to shelter in a “safe and secure area” on Wednesday morning as police swept the school for potential dangers, Kelly said.

“The police then swept the remainder of the school and we received written confirmation that it was safe to return the students and in looking after the students’ health and wellbeing ... [we] made the decision to send the kids home,” Kelly said.

Rutherford College principal Gary Moore said his school also received a threat on Wednesday and immediately contacted police and the ministry.

Moore said the school did not need to close or go into lockdown because of a police presence and their efforts, including sniffer dogs.

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