Ellicott superintendent gives update on lockdown, early dismissal
Amidst a string of unfounded online threats made against school districts across Colorado Springs, the state and the country, Ellicott School District 22 sent students home Thursday after a security incident.
In a Facebook post late Thursday night, Ellicott Superintendent Chris Smith said that the lockdown and subsequent dismissal was not related to various hoaxes, but rather a response to a missing gun reported from a vehicle on school grounds.
During the lockdown, the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office searched the high school, middle school and elementary school along with students’ backpacks.
A Sheriff’s Office spokesman, Kurt Smith, said the lockdown and shortened school day was out of “extreme caution” and that there was “no actual, credible threat to the school itself.”
- To ensure that there was no presence of a weapon on school grounds.
- To ensure students were not going to be moved into a situation or location that would increase the security risk.
- To ensure that all students were able to be 100% accounted for.
As for prioritizing the high school evacuation, Chris Smith said this was because secondary building searches were completed, older siblings would be home by the time elementary students were released, and the security concerns were specific to the high school and middle school.
When word of a plan to evacuate students to an off-campus site for reunification with parents began to get reported on social media and local news sites, the district shifted its plan out of caution.
“The district acknowledges this change in plan and limited communication caused issues and concerns for all involved,” Chris Smith wrote on Facebook. “Additionally, the district was not adequately prepared to handle the influx of parents who began to show up at the front doors and parking lots of the schools when students were already en route to their homes.”
Chris Smith went on to say that El Paso County deputies took over control of the elementary building during pick-up time and began directing parents, who became agitated, out of safety precautions.
The incident resulted in a communication breakdown between staff and parents and guardians while student safety was still in the process of getting confirmed.
“This is an ongoing situation, we are not through with investigating — as there are reports on Social Media or students reporting behaviors, we must be diligent and follow-up on,” Chris Smith wrote. “There are a lot of rumors, false reports, and speculations to sift through.”
The incident comes after numerous school districts received multiple threats over the past two weeks that were found to be unfounded and perpetuated by a handful of students.
Gazette news partner KOAA previously reported threats were received at Fountain-Fort Carson School District 8, Colorado Springs School District 11, Academy School District 20, School District 49 and Woodland Park School District in recent weeks.
The wave of threats in El Paso County is part of a nationwide trend of similar non-credible threats directed at schools, with local news media throughout the country reporting similar cases of lockdowns and police responses.
On Wednesday, the Sheriff’s Office announced the arrests of two minors in connection to hoaxes at two different area schools, in what Kurt Smith called “threats related to each other.” Those juveniles are facing charges in the incidents, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
Students and parents are encouraged to report any suspicious activity to local authorities, even if they are ultimately false. Threats can be reported anonymously through the online Safe2Tell program or calling law enforcement.
