Fox C-6 School District students were safely dismissed today, April 9, after the Seckman schools campus in Imperial was placed on a soft lockdown following threats of violence at the high school, district officials reported.
All campus after-school activities were canceled today, according to the report.
The district notified families about the soft lockdown at about 1:30 p.m. In a message sent to families and staff, district officials said Seckman High School administrators received two threatening phone calls that were vague in nature and traced to an overseas phone number.
Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Grant Bissell said they were threats that violence would occur at the high school. Multiple deputies secured the campus after they were notified about the threats at about 1 p.m.
The Seckman campus is home to Seckman High, Middle and Elementary schools. Fox C-6 said a soft lockdown meant access to buildings were restricted, and movement between classrooms was limited.
Just before 2 p.m., the district notified families that the Sheriff’s Office had blocked off access to the campus, which delayed transportation after school. Just after 2:20 p.m., the district told families that the soft lockdown was still in effect, but the schools would start a controlled dismissal of students.
Bissell said students from the high school were released first followed by students at the middle and elementary schools. Fox C-6 spokesman Andy Waterman said all students had left the campus by about 3:55 p.m. Deputies were no longer at the campus as of 5:30 p.m. or so.
The Sheriff’s Office was still investigating the threats after students, staff and deputies had left the campus, and it was not known if additional deputies would be at the campus tomorrow, Bissell said.
Waterman said the district planned to provide families and staff with an update about the situation later tonight.
While after-school activities were canceled at the Seckman campus, students participated in activities that were at other schools, he said.