Malfunctioning Heater Triggers Reports of Active Shooter at North Carolina High School

Update at 9 AM: Officials say it was a false alarm

An active shooter was reported at a North Carolina high school, but the school stated that it’s a false alarm.

The active shooter call came in at 6:30 a.m. ET at Topsail High School, Fox46 reported. It sparked a heavy law enforcement response on Nov. 9.

Pender Schools issued a statement to the Fox affiliate: “There was a report of an active shooter situation at Topsail High School this morning after noises were heard coming from the top of the building. Law enforcement responded immediately and it has been determined there is no shooter and no weapon.”

Topsail High, Topsail Middle, and Topsail Elementary are still on lockdown, the school said.

Reports said that a malfunctioning heater sparked the reports of an active shooter.

An active shooter was reported at a North Carolina high school, but the school stated that it’s a false alarm. Google Street View

“There’s no active shooter,” Tom Collins, who is the Pender County Emergency Management Director, told the Wilmington Star-News. “It’s a malfunctioning water heater.”

The broken heater  “sounded just like an AR-15 [semiautomatic rifle] going off,” Collins said

“Pender County Schools is thankful everyone is safe and thanks local emergency services for its immediate response,” the school tweeted.

Topsail High School is located in Hampstead, located 20 miles north from Wilmington.

“It’s extremely busy right now. All of our units are trying to take this person into custody,” a 911 dispatcher said.

No injuries were reported, the Star-News reported.

Photos and videos uploaded to social media show heavy traffic in the area as police responded.

Other details about the incident are not clear.