Loveland High sends students, staff home early after reported 'safety threat' to school
Update 3:30 p.m. Friday, March 31, 2023: The Thompson School District placed Loveland High School principal Michael James on paid administrative leave Friday. District officials would not say whether the disciplinary action was taken in response to how Wednesday's threat was handled within the school.
Original story: Loveland High School students were dismissed and classes canceled Wednesday morning following what school district officials said was a “safety threat” to its campus.
The threat was received through the state’s Safe2Tell tip line and immediately forwarded to “the local authorities and officials who need to see it,” a Thompson School District spokesperson said.
In a press release sent Wednesday afternoon, Loveland Police Department said it responded to "an unconfirmed report of a planned school shooting" just after 8 a.m. Wednesday and that the tip made to Safe2Tell included an "unspecific threat" to the school.
The department has a full-time school resource center at the school, and Loveland police said he "was present at the school when the threat came in and he immediately began working with school officials following all established safety protocols."
“Loveland police immediately investigated and determined the campus and everyone on it was safe,” said Mike Hausmann, the district’s chief information officer.
The disruption to the school that the investigation caused, Hausmann said, was significant enough to close the school for the remainder of the day.
“It impacted the level of learning enough that we felt we needed to close, and that was the right thing to do at this time,” Hausmann said.
Students, their families and staff were notified of the threat and closure through phone calls, emails and social media, he said.
“The safety and security of all students, staff and visitors is the number-one priority of our district team,” the statement posted on social media platforms read. “We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to remain vigilant and to take all reasonable steps and precautions to keep everyone safe.”
Hausmann was not on the school’s campus and could not say when classes were canceled and students dismissed. But a formal announcement from the district was circulating on social media before 10:30 a.m.
Loveland High School was scheduled to reopen for classes at regular times Thursday with an increased security presence, Hausmann said.
Lucille Erwin placed on 'secure perimeter' status
Just after 11 a.m. Wednesday, another Safe2Tell report was made regarding a threat to Lucile Erwin Middle School in northwest Loveland, police said.
The school was placed on “secure perimeter” status close to lunch time, Hausmann said. Hausmann was not able to provide additional information on the nature of the safety concern, other than to confirm that it was being investigated by law enforcement.
Classes are held as scheduled when schools go on "secure perimeter" status, Hausmann said, but all entrances and exits are secured and students and staff are not allowed to enter of leave the building. That security status is what Thompson School District schools use to protect students and staff when there is a threat outside the building, he said.
“It’s something that law enforcement officials are working to complete their investigation on as quickly as possible,” Hausmann said. “And once they do, the campus will return back to its normal security status when certain processes are complete.”
The status was lifted before the end of the school day, Hausmann later said.
Loveland police called the threat to Lucille Erwin "unspecific" and did not reference a school shooting threat to Lucille Erwin in the agency's press release. Like Loveland High, Lucille Erwin has a full-time school resource officer who was at the school at the time Wednesday's threat was made.
Dozens of parents were lined up outside the school at 1:30 p.m. to pick up their children. A Loveland police officer was stationed at the front door, and several Thompson School District security personnel were at the school, including one who told a Coloradoan reporter to leave the premises immediately.
Ryder Dunn, a seventh-grader, told the Coloradoan as he was leaving the school with his mother, Megan, that the "secure perimeter" status went into effect about 11:30 a.m. Ryder and some of his classmates were pulled out of the hallway into a nearby classroom for a few minutes before they were allowed to proceed to the cafeteria for lunch.
A teacher told students the safety concern was connected to the threat that closed Loveland High, Ryder said, and a handful of parents picking up their children early said they had been led to believe the two events were connected.
Police said that, as of Wednesday afternoon, "neither report has developed into an actual incident. However, Loveland Police used additional uniformed resources at both schools, as well as other schools in the area to have an extra presence."
Wednesday's threats came after three children and three staff members were killed in a shooting rampage at a Christian elementary school in Nashville Monday.
"Any threat to a school is a terrifying moment for a community," Loveland Police Chief Tim Doran said in the news release. "In wake of the tragic incident which occurred in Nashville, emotions are running especially high. The Loveland Police Department will do everything we can to ensure the safety of our students, teachers, and staff."
Reporter Kelly Lyell covers education, breaking news, some sports and other topics of interest for the Coloradoan. Contact him at kellylyell@coloradoan.com, twitter.com/KellyLyell or facebook.com/KellyLyell.news.
This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Loveland High sends students, staff home early due to 'safety threat'
