POULSBO — The lockdown at North Kitsap High School, Poulsbo Middle School and Poulsbo Elementary School ended at 11:10 a.m. May 2, almost two hours after a caller reported seeing someone walking near North Kitsap High School “with what looked like a rifle,” Deputy Police Chief Andy Pate said.
Police received the call at 9:28 a.m., possibly from a passerby, Pate said. Officers were sent to North Kitsap High School, Poulsbo Middle School and Poulsbo Elementary School as a precaution, and other officers were questioning people in the area to determine if they’d seen anything suspicious.
School district spokeswoman Jenn Markaryan said at 10:35 a.m. that parents were notified by robocall and the district was keeping them updated through social media — and answering phone calls. “Parents just want to know that their kids are safe,” Markaryan said.
Markaryan said at 11:30 a.m. that police had notified the school district that the investigation was completed “and we’re OK to end the lockdown.”
During the lockdown, Kitsap Daily News’ Sophie Bonomi reported seeing six law enforcement vehicles from Bainbridge Island Police, Poulsbo Police and Kitsap County Sheriff. She also found herself on lockdown. “I’m sitting in a dark room with no windows now,” she reported at the time.
Anyone on campus at the time found themselves on lockdown and not allowed to leave, among them delivery personnel from vendors such as Pepsi and Fed Ex, Markaryan said.
‘We will keep a presence on campus’
During the lockdown, Poulsbo Police Chief Dan Schoonmaker said, “We had a call about a possible suspect who was possibly armed and on the main campus. North Kitsap High School is on lockdown as a precaution. So far the area is clear and police are walking the area.”
After the lockdown ended, school resumed as normal.
“We were never able to substantiate anything,” Pate said. “But we will keep a presence on campus until the end of the school day today and re-evaluate for tomorrow.”
Pate said the schools responded well and outside agencies responded swiftly.
Lockdowns in Belfair
On the same day, schools in Belfair’s North Mason School District were on temporary lockdown as a precaution as officers there investigated a report of a student with a gun on campus, KOMONews.com reported.
No gun was found.
On temporary lockdown were North Mason High School, Hawkins Middle School and the school district office. It was the second lockdown under similar circumstances in a week at North Mason High.
North Kitsap public schools in Poulsbo were last on lockdown on Oct. 29, 2014, after a man allegedly sent a threatening text message to his wife, an elementary school employee.
— Sophie Bonomi, a reporter for Kitsap News Group, contributed to this report.
North Kitsap High School, Poulsbo Middle School and Poulsbo Elementary School were placed on lockdown May 2 after a caller reported seeing someone walking near North Kitsap High School “with what looked like a rifle,” Deputy Police Chief Andy Pate said. (Sophie Bonomi/Kitsap News Group)
Officers investigating near the North Kitsap High School sports field run to their cars to investigate a lead on the other side of the campus, May 2. (Sophie Bonomi/Kitsap News Group)
North Kitsap High School, Poulsbo Middle School and Poulsbo Elementary School were placed on lockdown May 2 after a caller reported seeing someone walking near North Kitsap High School “with what looked like a rifle,” Deputy Police Chief Andy Pate said. (Sophie Bonomi/Kitsap News Group)
