A. Philip Randolph High School in Jacksonville was placed under lockout Thursday afternoon after a school official believed they heard gunshots near the campus, prompting a law enforcement response and warnings for parents to stay away while officers checked the area. No one was injured, and officials say the sounds could not be confirmed as gunfire.
The initial report came from a school official at the Golfair Boulevard campus who thought they heard gunfire near the building, according to WJXT News4JAX. The school was first placed under lockdown before shifting to a lockout, a change a Duval County Public Schools spokesperson confirmed to the station. The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office assisted the school board in responding, but told the district it could not confirm that gunshots had actually been fired in the area.
Parents were alerted about the situation and specifically advised not to come to campus to pick up their children while the lockout was in effect. The Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department staged in the surrounding area to support law enforcement, and later confirmed it had no patients to transport. Fire crews also cleared the area near the school once the check was complete.
Why Lockdown Became Lockout
The shift in terminology reflects a specific distinction in district policy. Under Duval County Public Schools safety guidelines, a lockdown is declared when there is an imminent threat on or near campus, while a lockout is a precautionary measure that restricts exterior entry and exit but allows indoor classes to continue normally, according to Team Duval. That framework mirrors the national Standard Response Protocol, under which a “Secure” designation — formerly called a lockout — is meant to protect a school’s perimeter during off-campus hazards while keeping learning inside largely undisturbed, per Avigilon…