Sweet Home Junior High and Sweet Home High School entered lockout Thursday, Sept. 13, after a report by a single student of a suspicious person on campus.
Administrators directed teachers to hold students in class at 12:05 p.m. while the school resource officer, administration and police officers investigated the report. Police Chief Jeff Lynn said a student reported observing a suspicious person armed with a firearm spotted around campus.
The two schools went into lockout, which means no one was allowed in or out of the buildings; and police notified the Senior Center, located on 18th Avenue between the two schools.
“Officers responded,” Lynn said. “The resource officer worked well with school staff and quickly determined the threat not to be credible.”
The School District lifted the lockout by 12:50 p.m.
While the report was under investigation, students remained engaged in normal activities during the fourth period.
The school district issued a statement immediately following the investigation: “We take all threats seriously because keeping students safe is our chief responsibility. Tonight, we ask each parent to review with their son and daughter the importance of making good choices as well as ‘seeing something, saying something’ to help others stay safe too.”
“This worked out really well,” Lynn said. “The school received the report. They took action. We were notified and responded. We took extra precautions, notifying nearby schools and facilities. Better safe than sorry.”
“I thought it worked excellently,” said schools Supt. Tom Yahraes. “The response by our staff and law enforcement was swift.
“There was a perceived threat. The schools went into lockout. I’m happy with our lockout process.
“I’m happy with the swift response from the team. It was very orderly, and the kids were very orderly. That’s what we want until we can determine what is going on.”