(UPDATE, MAY 31) The Great Falls Police Department has released details about what happened on Tuesday that resulted in Longfellow briefly implementing "shelter in place" procedures. Click here for details.
(UPDATE, 4:11 pm) The school initially implemented "shelter in place," and then transitioned to "release with care" procedures, and students are being dismissed on the north side of the school, according to the GFPD.
Great Falls Public Schools sent a text message to parents at about 4:10 p.m. stating that parents can pick up their children at door #5 on the north side of the building, and that walking students will be escorted from school.
(1st REPORT) Several people have told KRTV that Longfellow Elementary School implemented either shelter-in-place or lockdown procedures on Tuesday afternoon (May 30, 2023).
According to the reports, the heightened security measure was ordered before 3:25 p.m.
A spokesman for the Great Falls Police Department said that officers are in the vicinity searching for a person involved in an "incident" over the weekend; he did not indicate that the person was actually on school property.
Our phone calls to the school have not been answered, and we have not been able to confirm whether security procedures have been implemented.
Longfellow is located at 1101 Seventh Avenue South.
Here is an overview of GFPS safety procedures:
- Evacuation: Defined as an internal emergency that requires students and staff to leave the building for their safety. Parents should follow emergency notifications.
- Lockdown: Defined as an internal and/or immediate threat. All staff and students are locked in rooms. No one IN or OUT!
- Shelter In Place: Defined as a safety precaution for an external threat that is not an immediate or internal threat.
- Class Hold: Defined as a safety precaution implemented during an incident where students need to be kept in the classroom.
- Release With Care: Defined as a possible threat in the schools’ neighborhoods during arrival and release time. Release with care procedures:
- To ensure safety, the building administrator may ask staff to escort students to/from buses or waiting cars.
- Staff may also be asked to accompany students home.
We have a reporter headed to the school and will update you as we get more information.
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