Lockdown held at Madison Central over medical emergency

Mar. 28—Blake Vickers

Madison Central High School went into lockdown briefly on Tuesday morning.

According to Erin Stewart, the school district's public information officer, the action was taken due to a medical emergency that occurred during a class change.

"It was a short lockdown. We needed to clear the hallways to be able to properly handle the situation," Stewart said. "It wasn't any kind of threat or anything, but after Denver last week and Nashville yesterday, any use of the word lockdown can be scary."

Madison Central Principal Brandon Fritz will be sending out a statement later on Tuesday to parents and guardians. It will brief them on the situation and clarify that it was not a security issue that led to the lockdown.

According to Moore, protocols like this are not normally taken by the school districts following medical lockdowns.

However, the recent school shootings that occurred in Denver, Colorado and Nashville, Tennessee have prompted school officials to take extra steps to ease any potential fear caused by the lockdown.

"It's tough when you've got a big building like Madison Central and you've got a couple thousand kids moving around all the time and you need to clear the hallway quickly. Normally, we don't notify parents about a medical situation, but in this case, we felt like it was necessary," Stewart said.

While the medical issue was one that needed to be addressed immediately, Stewart said the situation has been resolved and everyone is okay.