Kent School District officials locked down Kent-Meridian High School for about a half-hour at 10:15 a.m. Tuesday after a report of a man carrying a gun near French Field, the stadium next to the school.
The incident turned out to be a false report.
Kent Police searched near the school and French Field but did not find anyone with a gun, said Kent Police Lt. Pat Lowery. The lockdown ended at 10:45 a.m.
Lowery said someone had called 911 to report seeing a man running with a gun from apartments behind the campus to near French Field, so the officials put the school in lockdown until officers checked the area.
When police could not get an answer on the unregistered cellphone number that placed the 911 call, they concluded it was a false report, said Chris Loftis, Kent School District spokesman, in an email.
“The lockdown was lifted and things returned to normal quite quickly,” Loftis said.
School district officials sent out the following phone message by autodialer to Kent-Meridian homes after the incident:
“Hello, student safety is our number one responsibility at the Kent School District and we wanted to inform you of a false report that still caused alarm at our school today (Tuesday). Today we received reports of a man in the French Field area with a weapon. The school immediately went into lockdown and police were called. The police responded very quickly and after a thorough search, found no one suspicious and concluded the report was false. The lockdown was then lifted. At no point was any student, staff, or visitor in danger but as a courtesy to concerned family and community members we wanted to inform you of this event. The regular school schedule has not been effected.”
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