Rumor of student with gun prompts lockdown at Fort Vancouver High School

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) -- Fort Vancouver High School was briefly placed on lockdown Wednesday afternoon following a rumor that a student has a gun on school property.

According to Vancouver police, investigators found the student who was suspected of having the gun while the school was on lockdown around 2:14 p.m. However, officers said the student did not appear to have a weapon.

Principal Luis Castro Quintanilla sent a letter to families after the incident that explained the lockdown was the result of a rumor.

“We immediately removed the student from class who was accused of having a weapon to wait for the arrival of law enforcement,” Quintanilla said. “Vancouver Police Department (VPD) responded to our 911 call within minutes and began an investigation to assess the credibility of this threat.”

The school was cleared and the lockdown lifted by 2:31 p.m.

The incident is actually the third lockdown at a school in the Vancouver area this week, with the other two happening at Mountain View High School on Monday.

The first Mountain View High School lockdown happened because a student was having a personal crisis. The other happened later that evening which eventually led to the arrest of two 18-year-olds with guns.

KOIN 6 News spoke with one mom who was getting live updates from her son, a Fort Vancouver freshman, during the lockdown on Wednesday.

"He told me that they had their doors barricaded and doing their active shooter simulation," said the mom, who wished to remain anonymous.

The parent tried to find out more information on Facebook. But in one group on the site, she encountered what turned out to be more false rumors — that people had been shot. In reality, there was no shooting at all.

The mom said people posting lies on social media during times like this "can just put a lot of unnecessary panic into people."

In his letter, Principal Quintanilla shared the following statement:

"Our students' safety and well-being are our top priority and we take all threats very seriously. We partner closely with law enforcement, and follow all guidance issued to us by our first responders.

"We are grateful for the fast and reliable response today and that this incident was reported to our school administrators. It takes us all working together to keep our schools safe. If you see something, always say something.

"We know going into a lockdown can be very emotional for our students. We will be providing additional counseling support to any students in need."