Lockdown at Moscow High
Threat of a shooting incident at high school came via a phone call from out of state; high school was locked down, other schools put on secure mode until building was cleared by police
The Moscow School District invoked safety protocols Wednesday morning as police investigated a threat of an active shooter at Moscow High School.
According to a city of Moscow news release, the Moscow Police Department received a phone call at 9:50 a.m. from a male stating he was armed and planned to commit a shooting at the high school. It appears the call came from outside Idaho based on a preliminary investigation.
Latah County sheriff’s deputies arrived at the high school and set up a perimeter. The Moscow police arrived shortly after. Officers from both agencies entered the building “to quickly clear the building looking for active threats. NO THREATS were found inside the school and no one was injured,” the news release said.
Moscow High School was put on lockdown, and the other district schools were placed in secure mode as a precautionary measure. This meant all outside doors were secured and no one was allowed in or out of the building.
Police are continuing to investigate this case.
“At this time, there does not appear to be an active, credible threat to our schools,” the Moscow news release said.
Moscow School District Superintendent Greg Bailey later informed the Daily News that this phone threat was also sent to other schools outside Moscow, based on information he received. Moscow Police Capt. Anthony Dahlinger said he had not confirmed this as of Wednesday afternoon. Dahlinger said police will likely release more information about the investigation by Friday.
The Moscow School District did resume classes Wednesday and kept students indoors the rest of the school day. Parents of students were directed to contact the school their child attends if they wanted to remove the child early.
At approximately 11 a.m., parents were allowed to pick up their children at Moscow High School. A school staff member used a walkie-talkie to let the students know when their parents arrived.
In an afternoon news release, Bailey thanked the Moscow Police Department, Latah County Sheriff’s Office and the Moscow Volunteer Fire Department for their response to the situation.
“These situations always remind us how important it is to have safety protocols in place and practice safety drills regularly in our schools,” he said. “I am pleased with how our staff and students handled the situation today, and we will hold a debriefing with the Moscow Police to identify any procedures we need to improve.”
He said the district plans to be back to its regular schedule at each of its schools today. He asked parents to contact their child’s school if the student needs to talk with a counselor regarding the situation.
