McFarland Middle School on lockdown Tuesday morning

McFarland Middle was put on lockdown early Tuesday morning after rumors were circulating about a student brining a gun to school.

“We instituted a lockdown at about 10 a.m. because a student brought it to the school’s attention another student may have a handgun,” Othello Police Chief Phil Schenck said. “Our investigation found that was not the case.”

The lockdown, he said, is standard operating procedure for an incident like this. “It was put in place to prevent anyone from moving around in the event they did have a firearm. Our officers made sure the kids were safe and within a few minutes, the lockdown was called off.”

Assistant Othello School District Superintendent Pete Perez said McFarland Middle School officials became aware of the possible threat to campus at 9:55 a.m.

“Law enforcement was immediately contacted and the decision was made to go into a lockdown,” he said. “With the assistance of law enforcement the restrooms and hallways were cleared — doors were locked — and we made an accounting of our students. No one was allowed to enter or exit the facility.”

The school remained on lockdown until OPD had conducted its investigation, Perez said, and determined there was no creditable threat and that it was safe to resume normal operations.

That happened at 10:10.

Although there was no firearm found on campus, the rumors of one appears to have stemmed from an incident Monday morning in which an eighth grade student, who is now in custody of Adams County Juvenile Services (ACJS), threatened to steal other students cell phones at gunpoint. The alleged attempted robbery took place off school grounds.

“A juvenile was arrested late Monday evening who had apparently late Monday afternoon threatened a couple of kids with a bb gun that looked like a real gun and tried to steal some cell phones,” ACJS Administrator Juan Garza said. “So the kids went home and told their parents and cops were informed and they went out to the boys’ house and he admitted to attempt to take their phones with his bb gun.”

Garza said he doesn’t know what the Adams County Prosecutor will change the boy with and added he was locked up Monday night and put into Martin Hall.

He said Tuesday morning some kids at McFarland were spreading rumors about a weapon at school, and after OPD followed them up it was discovered the kids were really talking about the incident that happened Monday night.

Schenck said incidents like this can be unnerving for students and parents at best and added the school district and police are sensitive about these types of situations and that is why information about the incident was put out on the OPD community alert system.

“We use NIXEL and encourage parents and community members to sign up for it,” he said. “It’s free and is the easiest and quickest way to find out what’s going on in the schools. Calling the schools or the police department ties up lines. That prevents our dispatcher from quickly going along the phone list. NIXEL is the way people will be communicated to.”

Perez echoed Schenck’s comments.

“We are committed to clear communication with our students parents and their families,” he said. “So as soon as we get information we get it out there as quickly as we can through our Facebook page and our school messaging system.“

Everything, he said, including police response, worked exactly the way it was intended to.

“We received a threat — took it seriously and responded and was able to do it in an efficient manner and the students were never in danger.”