Hackettstown Lockdown Lifted; Threat Unfounded, Cops Say

A lockdown has been lifted for Hackettstown Public Schools and Centenary College following an earlier report of an armed gunman. The Hackettstown Police Department says the report of an armed gunman was unfounded.

A message on Hackettstown Public Schools web site says the lockdown has been lifted around 2 p.m. and a text-messaged alert saying, "LOCKDOWN IS OVER... " was sent to Centenary College students around the same time.

"The Hackettstown Public Schools has been directed by local law enforcement to lift the lockdown. All schools will have a regular and normal dismissal.  The Warren County Prosecutors Office, NJ State Police, and the Hackettstown Police Department have determined that the students, schools, and community are safe.  The threat was unfounded and the nature of the threat is a matter of an ongoing investigation," the school announced on its site.

Around 10 a.m. this morning, Hackettstown Public Schools and Centenary College were put on lockdown, keeping students inside as a safety precaution while police searched the area behind Hackettstown High School following a report of an armed gunman.

An alert on Centenary College's web site said, "The situation began when a man called the Warren County Communications Center about 9:45 a.m. and said he had an assault rifle in the woods beyond Hackettstown High School." In a text-messaged alert sent at 11:47 a.m., the college described a white male suspect wearing blue jeans and a black sweatshirt and possibly armed with an assault rifle.

A Hacketstown resident who called in to NJ101.5's radio show reported seeing a helicopter flying overhead nearby and said that authorities urged him to stay inside.

All classes have been canceled on the Hackettstown college's campus until  4 p.m.

The Associated Press Contributed To This Report.