2 Surprise schools locked down after reports of a gun on campus; no gun found

Police
Police

Reports of a possible gun on school grounds prompted a lockdown at both a high school and middle school in Surprise Tuesday afternoon, but no weapon was found.

Surprise police responded to reports of a student with a gun at Paradise Honors High School at about 1 p.m., according to Surprise Police Department spokesperson Sgt. Tommy Hale.

Lockdown procedures were put into place at Paradise Honors High School and Middle School after a student communicated the threat to administrators.

Officers eventually located the student and determined that the student did not have any weapons in their possession, Hale said.

Police will continue to investigate the source of the information, which led up to the lockdown occurring at the school.

"We are thankful for the collaboration by school staff members who followed the procedures exactly as practiced and allowed the responding police officers to swiftly locate the student and bring the potentially dangerous situation under control," Hale said.

Paradise Honors High School posted an initial notice of the lockdown on Facebook at 1:31 p.m. and then another at 2:14 p.m. when the lockdown was complete.

The school's leadership team issued a statement on Facebook regarding the incident because they were "committed to the safety and education of all our students."

"Paradise Schools holds student and staff safety as our number one priority, and all of our staff handles every potential threat as serious. We are very proud of how our students and staff responded to this incident. In addition, we would like to thank our staff members who followed our procedures exactly as practiced and Surprise Police Department for their collaboration and swift response."

The leadership team took a moment to thank the parents for entrusting them with their children and for their assistance in keeping the school community safe.

Authorities have not released additional information at this time.

Reach breaking news reporter Amaris Encinas at amaris.encinas@arizonarepublic.com or on Twitter @amarisencinas.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Surprise schools on lockdown after gun reported; no gun found