Kotzebue Middle High School went into lockdown Wednesday morning for approximately 35 minutes. Law enforcement officers responded and determined there was not a safety threat.
Jeffrey Alexander is the assistant superintendent for the Northwest Arctic Borough School District. He said he could not disclose what triggered it.
“If we feel like there is any need whatsoever, any kind of a situation that might be unsafe for our students, then we immediately will go into a lockdown,” Alexander said. “We'd rather be safe than sorry.”
Alexander said Kotzebue Police Department and Alaska State Troopers responded quickly and conducted an investigation. He said lockdowns at the school are rare and might happen once or twice a year – typically out of caution.
“There was a situation that arose at the high school, and we felt like it needed to be investigated, so we went into a lockdown just for safety,” Alexander said.
Kotzebue Police Department did not respond to emailed questions about the lockdown, but issued a press release that said there was not an ongoing threat to students or the school. KPD also thanked students, staff, parents and responding agencies for their cooperation during the lockdown.
