'School shooting soon' written on bathroom wall at Soap Lake school

SOAP LAKE — A message written on a bathroom wall at a Soap Lake school stating “school shooting soon” caused schools in the city to go into modified lockdowns Wednesday afternoon.

The message was found about 12:20 p.m. and the high school/middle school, as well as the elementary school, was put into a modified lockdown. The Soap Lake Police Department was contacted and the lockdown was lifted at 1:40 p.m.. Police and school district officials found no evidence to corroborate the threat.

“All students on campus were safe during this incident. We value the safety of each of our students and staff and appreciate all of the support and phone calls that we received,” stated the Soap Lake School District in a news release. “Emergency plans for this type of situation are in place at the school and lockdown drills have been practiced.”

The district reports during the lockdown students remained in their classes and did school work “just as they would during a typical day.”

Richard Byrd can be reached via email at city@columbiabasinherald.com.