Wellington High School went into lockdown for about an hour on Thursday morning after police said they received a "credible threat" on social media about a planned shooting.
The shooting was allegedly planned for 2021 but this was moved forward after messages sent by the alleged would-be-shooter were passed on to school staff, a student told Stuff.
There had been earlier suggestions from a student and a parent, which Stuff reported, that the planned attack that might have been aimed at a certain group of students. But police said there was "no information to suggest any particular group was a specific target".
Police said the lockdown was in response to threats made on social media, and they were talking to two young people in relation to the incident.
The school was put into partial lockdown for about an hour as a precaution, the police said.
Police said they wanted to thank Wellington High School and the wider community for their cooperation while the incident was dealt with.
"We know this incident has been worrying, and we urge anyone with concerns about their safety or the safety of others to speak to police immediately to report it. "
Stuff has seen Instagram messages between the alleged would-be shooter and another person.
Those messages said he planned to share the incident on Facebook: "I can't wait I'm soo excited."
His public Instagram page, which has since been taken down, included white supremacist imagery.
Among the posts were a picture of the Christchurch mosque shooter – posted on Thursday morning – as well as a rifle and bullets being held in someone's hand, posted the night before.
Another student at the school told Stuff the alleged would-be shooter had been posting on social media about having a gun and bullets and being a "Nazi".
Earlier on Thursday, Wellington High principal Dominic Killalea posted on Facebook that police had received a "credible threat" to the school and the school asked students to stay in class on Thursday.
"All students, staff and persons on-site are safely accounted for. Everyone did extremely well and responded to instructions," he wrote. "I would like to personally thank you for your support and trust during this difficult time."
Wellington Central MP Grant Robertson posted to social media saying he was sending "aroha" to Wellington High School.
Three police cars were parked outside the school on Taranaki St on Thursday morning, some with armed police inside.
Earlier, the school's Facebook page said there was a "situation" at the school and all entry and exit points were locked. Exams were continuing. "We will continue to provide updates on our website as soon as we know more.
"Please do not come to the school or phone the school as you will not be attended to and this may cause disruption to the management of this incident and could potentially place yourselves and/or our staff and students' safety at risk. We will update our website as soon as we have further information."
A police spokesman told Stuff earlier on Thursday that "police have received a report of a threat and have an increased [their presence] in the area".
"We are following positive lines of inquiry and will look to provide a further update as soon as able."
One student said she turned up to school but couldn't get in on Thursday morning.
A parent told Stuff her son was told to put the blinds down and stay away from the windows.
www.stuff.co.nz
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