Preston Jr. High put in lockdown Wednesday following multiple threats
PRESTON, Idaho (KIFI) - School Officials and Law Enforcement responded to two separate incidents at Preston Jr. High School, one of which resulted in a school lockdown, according to a post to the Franklin County Sheriff's Office Facebook page.
As students were arriving at the school, one child made a verbal threat to another which was overheard by school staff. The staff took action immediately according to the post, notifying law enforcement and verifying that the student had no weapons on him. Teachers immediately took the student to be held in the administration offices until law enforcement arrived and parents were contacted.
The student admitted to staff that he had been lying when he made the threat and the child was sent home, according to the post.
The incident is still under review by the Sheriff's office as they continue to coordinate with the Franklin County Prosecutor's office as well.
"At this incident, the school was not placed in lockdown and the school was not evacuated. The verbal threat was made, staff immediately controlled the student and verified he had no weapons on him, and Law enforcement was contacted and responded as well," states the post.
Later the same day, around 3 PM, an unrelated student told another child that they had a bomb, and the child who was told reported the comment to school staff. School staff immediately placed the school into lockdown, all students who were in common areas were pulled into the office area, and all classrooms were closed down, according to the post.
The school once again notified law enforcement and the Franklin County Sheriff's office began the evacuation of the students and staff, states the post.
"Law enforcement conducted a methodical search of the school. Hallways, classrooms, closets, and lockers were also checked. The student involved in this incident was also detained and parents were notified. The student and parents were cooperative with law enforcement and the student admitted he did not actually have a bomb, however; law enforcement still conducted a detailed search," says the Franklin Sheriff's Office's post.
As a final precaution, law enforcement contacted USU who responded with a K-9 trained to detect explosives. The USU bomb-sniffing dog swept the entire Jr. High building and the K-9 did not indicate any detection of explosives, according to the post.
"Law enforcement will finalize our investigation into both events and everything will then be reviewed by the Franklin County Prosecutors Office," states the Sheriff Office. "We want to thank all school personnel for the manner in which they responded and cared for the safety of the students."
