Louisiana Substitute Teacher Arrested for Triggering False Active-Shooter Alerts at Five Schools

Authorities in Louisiana arrested a substitute teacher accused of initiating false active-shooter alerts across five schools within the Caddo Parish school district. Lytonja Barfield, 58, was taken into custody and booked on five counts of menacing following an investigation that began after the district contacted law enforcement about suspicious emergency notifications.

According to the Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Office, Barfield allegedly accessed the district’s emergency management system to falsely report active shooters at multiple school locations. Don Gibbs, director of security for the school board, told investigators that Barfield used this system to generate the alerts that prompted immediate security responses at affected campuses.

School officials activated established security protocols at all locations upon receiving the alerts, implementing protective measures for students and staff while determining the legitimacy of the reported threats. After determining the alerts were fabricated, investigators identified Barfield as the person responsible for sending them.

Barfield is no longer employed by Caddo Parish Public Schools and was not assigned to work at any district location at the time of the incident, according to the school system. The district stated it is cooperating fully with law enforcement while the investigation continues, though specific details about which schools were affected and what security measures were deployed remain undisclosed.

Sheriff’s detectives located and questioned Barfield about the incident before transporting her to the Caddo Correctional Center. The sheriff’s office emphasized that false threat reports disrupt school operations, trigger emergency responses, and generate significant fear throughout student and staff populations and surrounding communities.