Winona school in lockdown after gun threat
WINONA, Minn. -- Authorities put Winona Senior High School into a partial lockdown Thursday after receiving a warning that a student planned to bring a gun to school.
Winona police took the student into custody when he arrived a school about 8:40 a.m. Thursday, said Ron Helmers, the high school's principal.
Police searched the student, his car and his companions. They didn't find a gun or any other weapons.
The student was identified only as a 15-year-old sophomore boy with no permanent address. Authorities said he cooperated with the investigation.
ADVERTISEMENT
Helmers said a parent called the senior high office about 8 a.m. to report that her daughter told her of the threat.
Faculty and staff were alerted, all entrances except the main door were locked, and school staff, security personnel and Winona police were stationed outside the building to intercept the student when he arrived.
Helmers said the student was new to the district this fall. The student was in a dispute at the high school on Wednesday that might have escalated into a fight had a school administrator not intervened, he said.
Helmers said a partial lockdown means classes proceed on schedule, except all but the main doors remain locked and no one is allowed in the hallways unescorted except between classes.
