With what school officials and Sequim Police say was decided “out of an abundance of caution,” Sequim High School and Olympic Peninsula Academy went into a modified lockdown on Thursday, March 24, following an alleged threat from one Sequim High School student towards a small group of fellow students on Wednesday night.
Officials lifted the lockdown at 10:30 a.m. Thursday after the 17-year-old boy was placed in Sequim Police Department’s custody about 30 minutes prior, according to Det. Sgt. Darrell Nelson of the Sequim Police Department.
Sequim High School administration received a report that “a student made a specific and targeted threat towards a small group of students,” according to emails and phone calls sent by Sequim School District officials to families Wednesday night and Thursday morning.
Peninsula Communications’ 9-1-1 call log shows Sequim High School officials notified Sequim Police of “threats” at 7:17 p.m. Wednesday night.
Nelson said officers interviewed students involved last night, and school officials made the decision to go into a modified lockdown following their recommendation because of the threat and it allegedly involving a gun.
With the case under investigation, Nelson said he would not disclose what the threat(s) were regarding.
He said the teen was booked into Clallam County Juvenile Detention Facility with a tentative hearing scheduled for Friday, March 25, when he could be charged with felony harassment.
The threat(s) were allegedly made over the phone and social media, Nelson said, and they have what appears to be evidence of a threat to other students.
Officers continue to investigate the involvement of a possible firearm, he said.
The student who allegedly made the threat and those threatened did not attend school on Thursday, Nelson said.
He would not specify how many students were allegedly threatened.
“We don’t believe there is any danger to students or staff,” Nelson said.
Six officers were scheduled to patrol the school campuses throughout Thursday morning, he said, with Sequim schools resource officer Kyle Resser keeping a constant presence at the high school.
“We’re taking student safety into consideration, and having visibility in the area,” Nelson said. “We’re here to keep the peace.”
In a modified lockdown, exterior doors remain locked throughout the school day with instructional activities continuing as normal and students moving between classrooms, according to school district officials. However, hallway traffic is limited to passing time only as students will remain in class during instructional time, they added.
School district officials said Olympic Peninsula Academy was locked down too because it shares students and facilities with the high school. Nelson said it was also because of the school’s proximity to the high school campus.
Families who kept their children home on Thursday due to the incident would receive excused absences if they notified their school’s attendance offices, school district officials reported.
Reporter Matthew Nash has family employed by and enrolled in Sequim School District.
