Gilmer County Campus-Wide Lockdown

Incident Profile

On Thursday, February 27th, 2020, a disgruntled staff member from the transportation department threatened other employees with a loaded firearm after being terminated. This potentially violent incident occurred in the transportation office, a building close to the middle school.

The Response

• Employees in the transportation office used radios to call 911 and to report that there was a gun on campus
• The School Resource Officer was monitoring radio traffic and heard the messages from the transportation office; she used her CrisisAlert™ badge to initiate a campus-wide lockdown of the middle school, notifying staff and administrators of the need to shelter-in-place and secure the campus
• The campus-wide lockdown was communicated via intercom, colored strobes, and desktop takeovers
• The firearm was never discharged and no one was seriously injured
• All students remained safely in their classrooms and cooperated throughout the lockdown
• The disgruntled transportation employee was arrested by the sheriff and the lockdown was lifted, allowing students and staff to resume their normal activities

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