KELSO, Wash. — Students at a Kelso middle school were evacuated and reunified with their parents after an anonymous threat of a weapon at the school.
Huntington Middle School received the threat at around 8 a.m. Wednesday. The school went into lockdown and staff contacted Kelso police.
“Right after announcements, they said there was a shelter in place and so my class…then there was all these cops and stuff,” said eighth grade student Shyla Martin.
Students were patted down and then bused to the expo center in Longview to be reunified with parents.
“It was super scary,” said Holly Rosemilligan, a parent of a student. “My daughter called me, practically in tears, and told me they evacuated the school and that I needed to come and get her.”
Authorities searched the school and did not find a gun.
As of Wednesday afternoon, no arrests had been made, according to the Kelso School District.
The school district released the following statement:
Safety and security remain our top priority, and we will continue to do everything possible to ensure the well-being of all our students and staff. As you are most likely aware, this morning there was a report of a firearm on the Huntington campus. We immediately partnered with Kelso Police Department in taking safety precautions on campus with all students and staff. As a safety measure, students were transported to the Expo Center. Every student was patted down before boarding the buses.
Police thoroughly searched the school, including all lockers and student backpacks. No firearm was found. At the time of this writing, no arrests have been made and police are following up on leads.
All safety and security protocols were coordinated in conjunction with Kelso Police Department officers.
The majority of students were re-unified with parents within an hour of arriving at the Expo Center.
Thank you for entrusting us with your children.
We are Kelso.