ANACONDA — Anaconda Public Schools were sent into lockdown today Thursday after a student phoned in an anonymous threat to shoot up the school.
The threat came in about noon Thursday forcing administrators to lock down the high school and other buildings to prevent anyone from leaving or entering.
The police presence was then increased at the schools. Just before 3 p.m., officers located the male student who made the threat.
Officials tell us there is no threat to the community.
"It's a sigh of relief everybody loves hearing when there's no threat, when we can get out of any lockdown situation or any kind of threat situation, just incredibly thankful to our local law enforcement, they did a great job. They kept us informed the entire time and they help to mitigate the situation and making the people feel safer," Anaconda Schools Superintendent Justin Barnes said.
Barnes added that school will continue as usual on Friday.
Barnes added in a notice posted on the school website that while it was determined the threat was "minimal." However, as per protocols, after school activities and sporting events have all been postponed.
"As always we understand that some parents or members of the community may be upset that they were not notified sooner but the district focuses on the safety of its staff and students as its utmost priority," the message reads.
"There are procedural safeguards in place for exactly these situations. Notifying parents at the time of discovery and based upon the type of threat would have potentially created a significantly larger threat," the statement concluded.
- information from John Emeigh included in this report.
