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Sheriff: School threat not intended

Schools go into lockdown after misinterpreting Facebook post
Colorado State Patrol troopers helped block traffic as Dolores schools were locked down because of a perceived threat on Facebook. Montezuma-Cortez High School later downgraded to a lockout status.

In an age when school violence has become too common, a perceived threat is enough to trigger increased school security measures like Wednesday’s for the Dolores Schools campus and Montezuma-Cortez High School.

“It was not an overreaction; it was a reaction,” said Montezuma County Sheriff Dennis Spruell. “It was a scary moment, but it appears the threat was unintentional.”

A lockdown occurred about 10 a.m. Wednesday for Dolores Schools after a girl in Durango posted a disturbing message about being upset about going to school. The juvenile attended Dolores Schools in the past but now attends a Durango school, according to law enforcement.

The post from the 15-year-old girl, as described by the sheriff’s office in a release, showed “pictures of a person with a gun to their head, someone drinking bleach through a straw and two other pictures.”

“She was having a yuck moment and expressed herself in the wrong way that had a ripple effect,” Spruell said.

Dolores later downgraded its “lockdown” to a “lockout” which allows students to move about in the building, but nobody can go in or out, and the exterior doors are locked.

During a “lockdown” students stay in the classrooms, which are locked, exterior doors are locked and nobody can enter or leave the building.

As a precaution, Montezuma-Cortez High School was put on “lockout” status during the emergency, according to Jamie Haukeness, director of school safety.

The lockouts for Dolores and M-CHS ended at 12:05 p.m. A law-enforcement report initially included Dove Creek high school as part of the lockdown. However, Dolores County Schools superintendent Bruce Hankins said the school “was never put on lockdown, and we were advised by the Dolores County sheriff that it was not necessary.”

There were no reported injuries or incidents as a result of the Facebook post.

According to the sheriff’s report, the girl “meant to convey how she felt about going to school the next day.”

The report states that further investigation revealed that the girl was a former student at Dolores Schools. As a safety precaution, Dolores Schools went on lockdown. Since the post was not school-specific, Montezuma-Cortez High School went to a lockout status.

Based on a tip from Montezuma County Sheriff’s Office, the Durango Police Department was able to track down the girl and interview her.

Spruell said the images involving the gun and bleach drink were taken from the Internet and posted on the girl’s Facebook page. Her name was not released because she is a juvenile.

Amy Smith, an M-CHS counselor, said students need to be aware of consequences of Facebook posts.

“I don’t think they understand how quickly their images and messages transverse beyond their friend group,” Smith said. “They can have an effect on other people’s lives like we saw here with a lockout.”

Smith urged students to be more cognizant of how their Facebook activity will be perceived in the wider world.

“For kids in general, impulse control is the last thing to develop,” she said. “As adults, we need to help guide them, and model appropriate behavior.”

Montezuma-Cortez Assistant Superintendent Lori Haukeness said that all of the district’s schools were placed on lockout, and the district’s Power School notification program alerted parents. The alert, in part, stated, “due to a direct threat made to one of our neighboring school districts by one of their students, the RE-1 schools are taking immediate precautions by transitioning into a “Lockout Status” until local law enforcement apprehends the individual.”

“This is becoming embedded into our practice to protect students,” Haukeness said. “This is our way of due diligence to keep students safe.”

Haukeness said school administrators planned to hold a debriefing on Tuesday, April 15, to obtain feedback from each of the schools and their responses to the threat.



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