False Alarm: Klickitat School Lockdown Lifted After Investigation Clears Two Males of Any Threat
Klickitat, WA, January 11, 2024 – At about 9:30 a.m. today, Klickitat County Dispatch received a call from the Klickitat School District. School staff who were monitoring cameras observed what appeared to be two males approaching school property, and one appeared to be armed with a gun.
The school was placed on lockdown as a precautionary measure. Law enforcement officers from several agencies responded to the campus, including the Klickitat County Sheriff's Office, Washington State Patrol, and Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. Medical personnel were staged nearby.
Officers arrived and conducted a thorough investigation. The two parties were located and interviewed. They were both cooperative and neither had a gun. It was determined that no threat was posed to the school and no criminal offense occurred. It appears that the two parties in question had been walking on nearby public lands and at one point one party may have been carrying a stick.
A still from Google Maps shows the proximity of the school to public walking trails.
“We’re just thankful that this turned out to be a life-threatening incident and that nobody was harmed and for the quick response. I know for some that response time means 2 to 3 minutes. Here just because of how big the County is, I know that response times can be 20 minutes plus because of the location,” said Carmen Knopf, Klickitat County Undersheriff.
“I would just like to thank all the cooperation of Washington State Patrol, Washington Fish and Wildlife and the Department of Emergency Management for everything,” said Knopf.
Klickitat School District has released the following message about the incident: https://shorturl.at/bflwI.
