Durham: Riverside High lockdown lifted after tip about possible gun on campus

Riverside High School in Durham was locked down Tuesday afternoon after an anonymous tip about a possible gun on campus, the latest in a string of lockdowns at the school over weapon tips this school year.

Durham Public Schools said the tip came in through the See Something, Say Something app. The Durham County Sheriff's Office confirmed the lockdown around 4 p.m., and it was lifted around 4:30 p.m., WRAL reported.

Officials have not said whether a weapon was found.

What happened Tuesday

The lockdown began on the afternoon of Tuesday, Oct. 6, close to the end of the school day. Riverside normally dismisses students at 4:15 p.m., and the district warned families that the lockdown could delay dismissal.

The sheriff's office confirmed the lockdown to WRAL around 4 p.m. About half an hour later, WRAL learned it had been lifted.

As of Wednesday morning, neither the district nor the sheriff's office had publicly said what officers found during the search, or whether they believe the tip was real or false. We found no announcement of any arrest. We are not treating Tuesday's tip as false unless officials say so.

How we got here

Tuesday was not the first time Riverside has gone into lockdown over an anonymous weapon tip.

In late 2025, the school went into lockdown three times in less than a month, WRAL reported, after anonymous tips about a gun on campus. CBS 17 reported in December that each of those tips had turned out to be fake. Superintendent Anthony Lewis told the station he was most worried about the emotional toll on students and staff, and that the district depends on law enforcement to judge whether a tip is real.

The tips kept coming in the spring. On March 10, 2026, the school was locked down after administrators were told a student might have a weapon. On March 23, it was locked down again, from just before 4 p.m. until about 4:45 p.m., while sheriff's deputies and Durham police searched for a possible gun.

The next day, the district said Riverside had been locked down three times in March, each time after an anonymous weapon tip, and that no weapon was found in any of those searches. In a message to families, Lewis said the district was working with the sheriff's office and its own safety and technology teams to figure out who was sending the tips, and that anyone found to have knowingly made false reports could face school discipline and legal consequences.

Riverside's principal, Dr. Gloria Woods-Weeks, told families at the time that lockdowns and dismissal delays are inconvenient but necessary, and that the school investigates every tip it receives. She urged students to keep using the Say Something tool responsibly.

We could not find any public report that anyone was identified or charged in connection with the earlier tips.

What the law says

Under North Carolina law, knowingly making a false report that mass violence will happen on school property is a Class H felony, and a court can order a person convicted of it to repay the costs of the disruption.

What happens next

The district and the sheriff's office have not released details from Tuesday's search. We will update this story if they say whether a weapon was found, whether the tip was false, or whether anyone has been identified.

Students and parents who are worried about a threat can report it through the Say Something app or tell a trusted adult at school. In an emergency, call 911.