The latest on local school lockdowns
This is an ongoing story, last updated at 10:45am and will be updated as more information becomes available.
The Aspen School District campus was evacuated and buses that hadn’t made it to the school were diverted around 9:11 a.m. Wednesday morning, according to Pitkin County Sheriff Michael Buglione.
That was after the district emailed parents at 9am telling them the school was on lockdown.
In the email, district officials said: “Following the direction of local law enforcement, the Aspen School District is in lockdown. Schools are safe and secure and county officials are working with law enforcement to assess the situation. Parents can be reunited with children who were on the bus with Buttermilk. Please bring ID with you when picking up your children. Please check the district website for half-hour updates.”
The Roaring Fork School District also sent out a text message to parents around 9:40 a.m., saying they had lifted their “safe” protocol at Basalt and Carbondale School.
“The safety measure at Carbondale and Basalt Schools has been lifted. All schools have returned to normal operations. Carbondale law enforcement believe there may have been a “swatting” incident;
According to a Pitkin alert sent out at 10:20 a.m., “All schools in the Aspen School District have been cleared of the threat.”
The district says it will communicate directly with parents about picking up their children. The district’s website said the high school and middle school are in “safe” mode — meaning students and teachers are staying in their classrooms. Parents should have their ID with them when picking up their children.
County officials say pickup is at Aspen Elementary School. They also say there has been no incident and the campus is safe.
A alarm sent to parents of Roaring Fork School District sent at 10:12am says Glenwood Springs High School is on lockdown. All other schools in Glenwood Springs and Carbondale are “safe”, meaning no one is allowed in or out of buildings and there are no outdoor breaks, but school continues normally inside the building.
According to county officials, Garfield Re-2 is also secured as a precaution “in response to a law enforcement issue in the valley.”
“All students and staff are safe. This is ONLY a precautionary measure,” the statement said.
As of 10:33 a.m., the Roaring Fork School District posted on its Facebook that all safety protocols at Glenwood Springs had been lifted.