Splendora High School was placed on lockdown after a teacher activated a school panic alarm at 8:45 a.m., authorities said, prompting a major law enforcement response that locked the building down automatically when the device was engaged.
The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office said detectives concluded the teacher’s injuries were self inflicted with a razor blade and that no student was involved, and that the teacher faces charges of making a false report and tampering with evidence.
Splendora ISD identified the teacher as 53 year old Nicole Truelove, who joined the district this school year and is a first year teacher at the campus, the district said.
Response And Investigation
Superintendent Dustin Bromley said the panic badge, if pressed more than three times up to 10, automatically locks the building, and that school staff followed safety and security measures during the incident, calling the response flawless.
The initial call led to a large law enforcement mobilization, with reporters noting dozens of worried parents on campus and KTRK reporting about 100 law enforcement officers at the height of the response, while other coverage said more than 80 officials responded.
Officials said several school resource officers arrived after the alarm and the school was placed on lockdown as a precaution, later moving to a secure hold as investigators examined the scene and the teacher was not transported to a hospital.
The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office said detectives determined the teacher activated the panic alarm and that her injury was self inflicted, and investigators continued to probe the circumstances surrounding the alarm and the reported attack.
KTRK reported that Truelove previously filed a $1 million federal lawsuit in 2017 against the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, alleging an assault by an inmate during a teaching assignment, and records cited by that outlet show the inmate was convicted of retaliation and assault on a public servant.
Those records also show the inmate later filed a lawsuit denying the allegations which was dismissed when the filing fee went unpaid, and that the TDCJ settled Truelove’s earlier lawsuit in 2024 for an undisclosed sum, according to KTRK.
