Officials: Lockdown lifted, no one found with gun near Cypress schools

CYPRESS, Texas – Two schools in Cypress were temporarily placed on lockdown Thursday after someone reported seeing a person with a gun in the area.

The lockdown was issued for Spillane Junior High and Cy Woods High School, which are both located on Woods-Spillane Blvd, around 8 a.m.

According to school officials, a person with what appeared to be a gun in hand was seen walking down Skinner Road near the schools.

Caroline Sixton said she saw a man who was armed with a rifle.  

"I made sure that it wasn't an umbrella.  It was a big, black rifle and he was heading over toward Spring Cypress," Sixton said.  "It hits too close to home."

She called police and then sent a text message to her teenage son.

The campuses were immediately placed in secure mode while the area was searched and notifications began to go out.

"I was on my way to work when my son texted me that they were on lockdown and I drove by and there were cops everywhere," said Mary Trevino, mother of a student.

Trevino turned around and drove back to her son's school, where she stood outside with other concerned parents, unable to gain access to the campus.

"We got an email that the school was on lockdown due to a suspicious person," said Jamie Robins, father of another student.
 
Parents said there was a bit of confusion about what was exactly going on.

"At first they were saying there was an intruder in Cy Woods is what I heard from the kids," said Laney Hamblin.  "They didn't know for sure what was happening.  They were calling the media themselves to find out."
 
According to witnesses, a wooded area by both campuses was blocked off and searched by officers.  No one was found and the lockdown was lifted an hour later.

"I was thinking to myself, 'Is this seriously happening at our school, in our area?'" said Francisco Gonzales, a student. "This is Cypress.  Cypress is a good community, you don't expect those kind of things to happen here."