SHARONVILLE, Ohio — Princeton High School and Princeton Middle School have shut down and students have been released to parents after an active shooter hoax took place Friday morning, Sharonville police said.

A 911 caller reported the false shooter and at least 10 people injured at Princeton High School just before 10 a.m. Multiple police and emergency crews were dispatched to the high school and just before 11:30 a.m. confirmed that no one was injured and there was no shooter on the premises.

"Rest easy, breathe easy, everyone is safe," Sharonville Lt. Walter Cordes said.

Both the high school and middle school shut down for the rest of the day out of an abundance of caution. Friday night football for Princeton was also postponed.

Sharonville police are currently investigating the false report. The 911 caller that reported the fake active shooter left a phone number with a California area code, but police have not identified any possible suspects or leads in the investigation.

Parents were routed to Vineyard Cincinnati Church near the high school to wait for information and their children. Children that did not have parents there to pick them up were bussed home, Sharonville police said.

Zakiya Odessa, the mother of a 12-year-old Princeton Schools student, said her daughter informed her of the supposed threat from inside the gymnasium of the school.

"That's the worst phone call you could ever get," Odessa said.

'The worst phone call you could ever get': Mother reacts to Princeton HS active shooter hoax

Gerald Bailey — the father of an 11th and seventh grade students in the district — said the situation was stressful.

"I left work and sped over here," Bailey said. "It's heartbreaking. It was nerve-wracking."

Bailey was able to pick his children up near the school after they were released. He said most parents seem to collectively have a sigh of relief after they learned the report was a hoax.

'It was nerve-wracking': Parents react to Princeton High School active shooter threat

"I think everybody is a little bit more relaxed now and they're very relieved that their child is safe and no one was injured," Bailey said.

Bailey also praised the Princeton High School staff and everybody involved for how they handled everything, especially with the conflicting information of whether or not there was a shooter.

The hoax report is seemingly part of a larger trend of school districts receiving fake shooting threats, Princeton City Schools Superintendent Tom Burton said. On Friday, Catholic Central High School in Springfield, Belmont High School in Dayton and Licking Valley School District, which is east of Columbus, all dealt with other active shooter threat incidents.

"Everything feels weird," Odessa said. "I mean the way the world's going, you can't take anything lightly anymore. You cannot."

Odessa said it's sad that kids can't just be kids in today's world — especially in schools.

"Why can't our children go to school?" Odessa said. "In our days, you didn't have to worry about that. You might've had to worry about bullies, but we didn't have to worry about bullets."

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SHARONVILLE, Ohio — Princeton head football coach Mike Daniels will be the new director of on-campus recruiting for the Army West Point football program, he told WCPO Tuesday.

"To be able to go to an institution that is one of the finest in the world is special," Daniels said. "You're talking about a kid that grew up in the Lincoln Heights area. To be able to go and put myself in a situation, scenario like West Point is amazing. Talk about discipline, honor and just being leaders of the world; I'm very excited about that opportunity."

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He expects to start his new position in early March.

Daniels, a former University of Cincinnati and Princeton High School football standout, coached the Vikings for four seasons after accepting the head coaching position in March 2017.

Princeton had a 6-2 overall record including 6-1 in the Greater Miami Conference during its last season. The Vikings were 6-5 in 2019, when they reached the postseason for the first time since 2007.

"We got it back to where Princeton is a great destination for premier student-athletes," Daniels said. "That's probably the thing I'm most proud of."

The GMC formed in 1966. Fifty-three years later, in 2019, Daniels became the first Black head coach to make the playoffs in the GMC, according to WCPO's Reggie Wilson.

Daniels, a 2003 Princeton graduate and member of the school's athletics hall of fame, said the high school will always be with him personally and professionally.

He said he enjoyed being able to engage the community and the tradition of Princeton athletics, and Princeton's next head coach will inherit a talented team.

"Whoever it is, it's going to be a team that is ready to go win now," Daniels said. "I'm very excited for whoever that is."

Princeton athletic director Joe Roberts told WCPO the school will begin its search for the next head coach immediately.

Daniels received national recognition for his coaching resume during his time at Princeton, where he instructed some high-profile college recruits.

He was named Football Scoop's 2020-21 Minority Coaches Watch List in early December and participated in the 2020 NFL Bill Walsh Minority Coaching Fellowship with the Cincinnati Bengals last summer, among other internships in the NFL.

He also previously coached at UC, Kennesaw State and Buffalo prior to Princeton. He spent three seasons (2011-13) at Statesboro High School in Georgia.

It was at Kennesaw State where he connected with some coaching colleagues who are now on Army's staff.

Daniels said he's looking forward to enhancing Army's on-campus recruiting experience.

"I'm excited about the opportunity, I really am," he said.

As a football player, Daniels was a four-year letterwinner at UC (2003-07) where he was a triple threat as a wide receiver, running back and returner.

He served as the team captain and earned the Jim Kelly Spirit Award in 2007 under then-head coach Brian Kelly.

A 2013 Princeton Athletic Hall of Fame inductee, Daniels was named the 2002 Ohio Division I state offensive player of the year, according to Princeton.

CINCINNATI —

An 18-year-old is dead following an apparent medical episode at Princeton High School.

It happened around 8:15 p.m. Thursday at the high school's sporting facilities, Sharonville police confirm.

That teen was taken to Children's Hospital's Liberty Campus, where he was later pronounced dead.

The Butler County Coroner's Office confirms that the teenager — who has not been named — died at the hospital and an autopsy is scheduled for later Friday.

A cause of death is unknown, but 911 callers and police described the teen's death as some sort of medical incident.

According to a 911 caller, the teen suffered some sort of medical episode — which the caller likened to a seizure — during a soccer scrimmage at the turf field across from the stadium, the caller said.

The school district released a short statement, which reads: "We join our Princeton Family, friends, classmates, and our community as we grieve the loss of a life taken too soon. Our school district has implemented our crisis response team with the district and local mental health professionals and counselors and they will continue to be available for an extended period of time to assist individuals touched by this tragedy. Once again, our sympathies and prayers are with the family and all those affected by recent events. Many of our families have faced significant personal challenges this year, and only by supporting each other are we empowered to rise up and carry on."

WLWT is working to learn more and will update this story as details become available.