GREENWOOD VILLAGE | Cherry Creek High School and the surrounding schools were placed on secure perimeter Thursday afternoon after police were notified of a social media message threatening to “shoot up” the high school.

The threat came two days after a mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas that killed 19 children and two teachers, placing schools across the nation on edge during the final days of the school year.

Greenwood Village Police Department Officer Rodney Valenzuela said that the police were informed this morning of a social media message sent to someone out of state threatening to commit a shooting on campus. After being notified, the police and school district made the decision to place the Cherry Creek High School campus, which includes Campus Middle School and Bellview Elementary School, under a secure perimeter.

“The threat stemmed from an individual who resides out of state who received a social media message from an unknown subject, threatening to ‘shoot up the school,’” a news release from the police department said. “Through investigative means, it was determined that the school in question is Cherry Creek High School. We are currently working on identifying the person who made the threatening message, and the investigation is currently ongoing.”

Under the secure perimeter protocol, normal activity goes on inside the school buildings while all exterior doors are closed and locked.

According to the the Union St. Journal, Cherry Creek’s student newspaper, the secure perimeter was put in place shortly before noon and lifted shortly after 1 p.m., delaying the end of the day on the last day of the school year.

Valenzuela said that after the secure perimeter was lifted, the district conducted a controlled release.

The high school was on finals schedule for the last week of school, and classes were supposed to get out at 12:25, Union St. Journal editor-in-chief and CCHS junior Carly Philpott told The Sentinel. Students were initially notified of the secure perimeter over the intercom by principal Ryan Silva, as per district protocol.

Philpott said Silva told students there had been a social media threat, but that a phone message sent to parents of students at campus schools initially said that the perimeter was due to police activity in the area. Philpott’s teacher, who has children at the campus schools, played the classroom the message sent to parents.

At 12:25, Philpott said Silva came on the intercom to say that students would remain in their classrooms for the foreseeable future. At 1:11 students began to be released in phases and at 1:35 all students were allowed to leave.

At that point Philpott said students were told they had to be off campus by 1:45 and that they should go straight home and not linger at frequent student hangouts near campus, such as the King Soopers and Dairy Queen down the road.

While waiting, Philpott said some students seemed anxious while others were mostly frustrated at being kept late on the last day of class. The Uvalde shooting was “on everyone’s mind.”

“There was palpable tension and anxiety, and a lot of that was a result of what happened in Texas on Tuesday,” she said.

A representative from the district did not respond to a request for comment. On Wednesday, district superintendent Chris Smith told The Sentinel that the district would not increase security during the rest of the school year but would be extra vigilant to ensure that all the safety protocols it has in place were being followed to the letter.

“It’s tragic,” he said of the Uvalde shooting.

Aurora Public Schools spokesperson Corey Christiansen said that the district had additional counseling and mental health resources available for students on Wednesday and Thursday, and that students will have access to online counseling through Hazel Health throughout the summer.

The Cherry Creek threat was one of several incidents involving Denver metro area schools over the last several days. On Wednesday, a 14-year-old male Superior resident was arrested in connection to threats made against Casey Middle School in Boulder.

On Thursday morning, Northfield High School in Denver was placed on lockdown over reports of students with a weapon. Following an investigation, a paintball gun was recovered and two people were taken into custody, according to police.