LHS lockdown ends with the all clear

After a lockdown that lasted less than one hour Friday morning, Lewiston High School was determined to be secure by law enforcement officers following a report that shots had been fired.

The incident began at 8:51 a.m. Friday when an unknown caller reported to the Lewiston Police Department they heard shots fired at the high school. When police arrived, the school administration went into emergency protocol and the school was placed on lockdown, according to an email from the Lewiston School District.

While the school was on lockdown, Lewiston police and SWAT checked and secured all the rooms at the high school and the A. Neil DeAtley Career Technical Education Center. All other schools in the district were placed in “secure” procedures as a precautionary measure.

An alert was also sent to Lewis-Clark State College students that “shots have reportedly been fired near the Lewiston High School” and the LCSC Schweitzer Career and Technical Education Center was on lockdown, according to a Facebook post from the college.

Police were staged by the main entrance and by the DeAtley Center. Vehicles that had arrived on scene were stopped or told to turn around by law enforcement. In addition to Lewiston police, Nez Perce County Sheriff, Idaho State Police and Clarkston police all responded.

After a security assessment of the buildings, Lewiston police determined there was no threat to students and staff, and all schools in the district were given a clear status at 9:42 a.m., according to the district and a news release from the Lewiston Police Department. The lockdown at the Schweitzer Center was lifted at 9:43 a.m., according to LCSC’s Facebook page. An email was sent to high school families at 10:30 a.m. and a text alert was sent at 11:38 a.m. from the Lewiston School District, notifying them of the incident.

When the lockdown was lifted, hundreds of students walked to their classes between buildings. Some parents had arrived and were taking students home for the day and vehicles were allowed to come and go from the parking lot. Lewiston School District Superintendent Lance Hansen said that school remained in session, but parents were able to pick up their children and counseling services were also available.

Hansen said that, to his knowledge, it was the first time there had been a lockdown because of a report of shots fired at a school in the district.

The incident also provided a learning opportunity on the response and areas to improve on during a debriefing with law enforcement and district administration. The biggest takeaway was the need for communication with family members, including the timeliness, the content of the message and method of sending it, such as the different forms of media used to reach parents.

“(Communication) was not timely and it didn’t match the information getting out ahead of us,” Hansen said. “So moving forward, we have things in place so we will get accurate information out in a more timely manner.”

The debriefing also highlighted that changes should be made to the announcement system in a lockdown situation. In some classes where there are loud machines running, the announcement wasn’t heard, so the district will work on a plan to notify classes that the school is in lockdown in a visual way.

Although there were areas of improvement, Hansen commended the response from law enforcement, who arrived “almost instantly” and began doing a search of the perimeter and then the buildings to ensure student safety.

When Hansen walked through the building with law enforcement, “it was quiet as a mouse,” he said. “Kudos to everyone in there.”

Carol Maurer, public information officer for the city of Lewiston, said police weren’t able to identify the cause of the “shots fired” report from the main building. Hansen said that police interviewed people in the area, and none of them could confirm that shots had been fired.

“Whatever sound that the caller reported, they claimed it was shots being fired,” Maurer said.

“Thankfully, it wasn’t that, but it’s important to tell and report those things,” she said. “We don’t want to deter anybody from reporting those things in the future.”

For LCSC, Logan Fowler, director of communications and marketing for the college, said the college worked with Lewiston police on the lockdown and alert regarding the report from the high school.

“As soon as we get something from LPD, we make a judgment call,” Fowler said about if and when to send messages to students, faculty and staff.

Seyi Arogundade, a senior at the high school, was in her first-hour class at the DeAtley Center when some of her friends saw police officers with guns outside the window. Then on the intercom, there was an announcement that the school was in “lock in,” meaning that students were to stay in the classroom.

Soon after, the students saw some of the officers running, followed by another intercom announcement that the school was in lockdown and it was not a drill. Her teacher, Golden Steele, turned off all the lights and told the students to get down and along the wall and be quiet.

For junior Keli Fischer, the start of her day was similar to Arogundade’s — all normal until the lockdown began.

She and her classmates at the DeAtley Center heard sirens and saw heavily armed law enforcement officers walking around the building. Then the blinds to the room were closed when the lockdown was announced.

No one in the two students’ class knew what was going on but they heard about the message from LCSC about reports of shots fired at the high school and the Schweitzer Center being on lockdown. Some of the students at the high school take online classes or dual credits through the college and received the alert.

Even though the school was in lockdown, Fischer said they could hear people coming in and out of the DeAtley Center. When the lockdown was lifted, Fischer said law enforcement and district officials banged on the door of the classroom and tried the door handle, but those in the classroom didn’t know who was trying to enter the room or that the lockdown was over.

Those incidents, Fischer said, caused more concern and panic for some students.

“The situation was handled very poorly and it was kind of a mess,” she said.

Hansen said that the protocol for the lockdown is to not open the door even if someone is banging on it because “anyone could be on the other side of the door.” Police also have keys to open the classroom doors. He said he wasn’t aware of any situation where people were knocking on doors or trying to enter classrooms during the lockdown.

“We train those who are in the (classroom) to not open the door, period,” Hansen said.

While the school has done lockdown drills before, as the situation unfolded it became more real. Fischer said that at the beginning, some people were laughing, but then they saw the text message from LCSC.

“It was kind of terrifying honestly,” she said.

“It was a different vibe, I guess. People were trying to joke about it but the jokes were falling flat,” Arogundade said. “But in the moment it was like, ‘This is legit.’”

Arogundade said it took a while for her to process what was happening.

“It didn’t really hit me this was a real and an actual thing,” she said.

She didn’t know what was going on and was crying and panicking, and a friend was holding her hand. She was texting her family members, who were also confused about the situation.

Even though she was panicking, she felt safe in the classroom with her teacher.

“I knew if something came down to it, he would fight for us, and it was a very scary thought, but I felt safe because he was there,” she said.

She said Steele was getting updates and making sure the students were doing well in the situation.

“It was 30 to 45 minutes of sitting in the dark and being quiet and then the lockdown ended and we were able to go back to normal, but I went home,” Arogundade said. “It doesn’t feel like a normal situation to return to class as if nothing happened.”

Arogundade wasn’t the only student who went home. She said students left in “droves.” A friend at school told her there were seven kids in an English class that usually has around 25.

“It was kind of disappointing,” said Fischer, who also went home after the incident. “(The school) expected us to go on with our day as if nothing had happened.”

Even though the school had prepared and trained for the situation, when “it happens in real life and you’re just kind of like ‘wow’ – you’re shocked,” Arogundade said.

She’s grateful the situation didn’t turn out to be dangerous and that people were safe. She was satisfied with the school’s response.

“The school tried their best to keep us safe in a scary situation,” Arogundade said.

Brewster may be contacted at kbrewster@lmtribune.com or at (208) 848-2297.