Newtown schools placed in lockdown after threatening phone call

Schools in Newton, Connecticut were put under a brief lockdown Monday after one campus received a threatening phone call, a jarring experience for a community still reeling from December's Sandy Hook massacre. 

A threat was implied in a phone call made to Hawley Elementary School, located under two miles from Sandy Hook, interim schools superintendent John Reed told WNDU 16. 

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"In addition to the policeman who was present when the call came in, other members of the Newtown Police department and the chief…arrived within 5 minutes," said Reed, according to CBS Connecticut. 

All schools in the district were swiftly put into a "soft" lockdown at the discretion of local police chief Michael Kehoe.

The action lasted under an hour and affected 5,500 students, who were released from school about 35 minutes late, wrote the New York Daily News. 

“NHS is NO LONGER in soft lockdown. Buses will run a bit late. Parents are free to pick up. Thank you for your patience and understanding," said the Newtown High School Twitter feed soon after the lockdown was lifted.

"Luckily it was short lived, but it was another nightmare of course," local parent Karen Dryer told ABC News.

"It's a horrible, evil thing to do to this community. It's pure evil to put the staff and children through this, it's just awful. I'm very very shaken up, and quite stunned. I think entire community is. It's just too raw," she added.