DENVER — Multiple schools or school districts around Colorado on Wednesday received reported incidents or threats, many of which proved unfounded, leading to orders for students to shelter in place or be evacuated as a safety precaution.
In Boulder, a 911 call was received by communications at 8:33 a.m. about an active shooting at Boulder High School, said Police Chief Maris Herold at a late-morning news conference outside the school.
The caller, likely a man, according to Herold, said that he was armed and was firing shots. Gunfire was heard in the background.
“I have listened to this 911 call,” Herold said. “It is very scary.”
Students were initially ordered to shelter in place and were later led out of the school by deputies and responders. They were bused to the University of Colorado campus and picked up by parents.
Beyond the unfounded report made of an active shooter at Boulder High School, an “unknown incident” happened near Aspen Schools.
Local authorities on Wednesday responded to threats or incidents at schools in widespread areas of Colorado including: Alamosa, Aspen, Aurora, Boulder, Brighton, Brush, Cañon City, Englewood, Estes Park, Glenwood Springs, Gilpin County and Littleton.
As of 1 p.m. Wednesday, police had not found any victims at any of the schools, and almost all the schools had been cleared of any threat.
The FBI is aiding local and state authorities in an ongoing investigation into the incidents.
“The FBI works closely with its law enforcement partners by providing resources and guidance in these investigations and can recommend cases for federal prosecution,” the agency said in a statement. “While we have no information at this time to indicate a specific and credible threat, we continue to work with our local, state, and federal law enforcement partners to gather, share, and act upon threat information as it comes to our attention.”
Brighton police investigated Brighton High School after a “threatening call” was made to dispatch.
Other schools were also briefly placed on secure status while police investigated, but police lifted the secure status at Brighton High School at 9:45 a.m. after finding no credible threat.
Cañon City police are also working to secure Cañon City High School after a bomb threat was called in to police.
Cañon City Schools updated their website at 10:04 a.m., saying the “validity of the threat is unknown at this time,” but no one has reported any injuries or suspects. The school was still on lockdown as of that update.
In Alamosa, Ortega Middle School was placed on lockdown due to a call reporting an armed person at the school, but Alamosa School District said in a release that the lockdown was lifted within five minutes.
Glenwood Springs High School was briefly locked down and other schools in the Roaring Fork district were on secure status, but all measures were lifted within 15 minutes.
Aspen Schools have been cleared of any threats, the Pitkin County Sheriff’s Office said, and reunification is in progress there as well.
The Colorado Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management said in a tweet they are monitoring the situation at the schools, but none of the districts has asked for assistance.
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