Milwaukee School of Languages students kept inside after school because of reckless driving
Students at the Milwaukee School of Languages were held inside after school until 4 p.m. Wednesday because of reckless driving around the building and an unsubstantiated allegation of an active shooter, according to officials with the Milwaukee Police Department and Milwaukee Public Schools.
Police walked through the school and did not locate any evidence of an active shooter but reported there were two vehicles driving recklessly around the school on the 8400 block of W. Burleigh St.
A similar incident was reported earlier Wednesday outside the Grantosa Drive Elementary School, at 4850 N. 82nd St. At 12:51 p.m., where police said two vehicles were driving recklessly.
The incident outside the Milwaukee School of Languages was originally reported as a reckless driving incident and later was upgraded to an active shooter report, police said. A squad car was dispatched to the school within a minute of the active shooter report but police would not say how long it took officers to arrive after the initial call.
Throughout the incident, the building was locked and student dismissal was delayed until it was safe to exit, officials said. The release time for the Milwaukee School of Languages is 3:25 p.m., according to its website.
At around 3:30 p.m., Farah Ewing was driving toward West Burleigh Street on North 84th Street with her 10- and 8-year-old children in the car when she saw a silver vehicle driving recklessly ahead of her.
“Swerving isn’t even the right word,” she said. “It was all over, just ping-ponging all over the street. You could tell they just had zero regard for human life.”
She said she had to pull over to stay out of the car’s way. After it passed, she continued on until she stopped at a red light.
In her mirrors, she could see the car coming toward her again. It seemed like the driver considered moving into oncoming traffic for a moment, Ewing said, but instead drove in reverse for a block, turned around and “went flying off” in a southerly direction.
“I thought they would probably lose control,” she said. “It was just ridiculous. It was definitely not a fun experience.”
Milwaukee police said they are seeking those responsible.
Milwaukee Public Schools Communications Director Nicole Armendariz said in the days ahead, MPS leaders will be looking for any infrastructural changes that could be made to the school grounds to "deter this situation in the future."
Contact Rory Linnane at rory.linnane@jrn.com. Follow her on Twitter at @RoryLinnane.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Reckless driving delays dismissal at Milwaukee School of Languages
