Eisenhower High in Goddard has brief lockout before threat is discredited
Eisenhower High School entered a brief lockout period Friday morning after a student received a tip that a gun had been brought to school. The tip was later found to be unsubstantiated.
At 12:30 p.m. Friday, USD 265 Police Chief Joe Camp notified staff and families that an Eisenhower student had received a message from an individual outside the school, who authorities also believed to be a student at Eisenhower. The message suggested that a student had taken a gun to school.
In a statement, Camp said the student who received the message reported it to a teacher and then left the classroom. The school then entered a lockout period.
“Out of an abundance of caution,” Camp said, “the school implemented lockout procedures asking students and staff over the intercom to remain in their classrooms for a short period of time as our officers investigated the situation.”
A lockout is a safety protocol in which the exterior doors are to a school are locked. Students and faculty can resume regular school activities inside, but entrance is prohibited. Lockouts are typically implemented when a threat is outside the school building.
Camp said additional USD 265 officers were called to assist, but no weapons were found after a search of the building. They determined that the threat was unfounded.
“We take every threat seriously and investigate it immediately and thoroughly to ensure we provide a safe and secure learning environment for our students, staff, and visitors,” Camp said in the statement.
The lockout at Eisenhower lasted only for a short period of time, Camp said, and normal operations at the school resumed soon after.
Goddard isn’t the only south-central Kansas school to take precautionary measures recently.
A Facebook Marketplace deal-gone-wrong at a QuikTrip on Wednesday triggered a lockdown at nearby Northwest High School. Last week, Samuel E. Spaght Science & Communications Magnet had a brief lockout after a man shot a dog near the school.
Three students at Maize High were arrested Thursday and Friday after a gun was found in a backpack. The school did not have a lockdown.
