In a testament to Durango School District 9-R’s vigilance about student safety and the real-world applications of chaos theory, on Tuesday, an athletic event at Durango High School ended up triggering a chain of incidents that concluded in Riverview Elementary School going into lockdown.
Durango Police Department Sgt. Dave Peterson said Riverview had gone into lockdown – during which all the lights are turned off and students hide – after School Safety Officer Preston Rea overheard on his police radio that a woman had called in to report possible gunshots on the River Trail around 2:20 p.m.
Durango Police Department spokesman Lt. Ray Shupe said police received a “shots-fired call” Tuesday afternoon, but, upon arriving at the river trail, police determined no guns had been fired.
Shupe said a misunderstanding arose because an adult was using a starter pistol, which shoots blanks, at a DHS track-and-field meet.
Shupe said a woman who lives near the river trail called the police worried that someone had been shot. “It ended up being a bunch of kids on the river trail. Every time the gun would go off, they screamed, ‘I’ve been hit! I’ve been hit!,’” he said.
Shupe said police talked to the three boys who were responsible, but no tickets were issued.
Durango 9-R spokeswoman Julie Popp said the district had not further disciplined the students.“Within two or three minutes,” of the school going into lockdown, Riverview Elementary staff members “realized it wasn’t a viable threat,” Popp said. Lessons quickly resumed, with Riverview going to the less disruptive “lockout” security level, whereby nobody can enter the building, but inside, school business carries on as usual.“Neither the students, the staff nor the parents were alarmed by the interruption. I think that’s because of all the emergency drills – it prepares them and gives them the confidence to act appropriately,” she said.
Riverview Principal Doug Geygan told parents about the incident in a letter given to Riverview parents Tuesday afternoon.Asked whether the Sandy Hook massacre and the Boston Marathon bombings had left people more sensitive, Sgt. Peterson said, “There’s a lot of things that have got people a little bit on edge. But, of course, it was the right thing for the lady to have done, and it was the right thing for the officer to have done. … It all ended very well, so we’re happy with that. Just three kids, that were, you know, acting out.”
cmcallister@durangoherald.com
