Morton police: Joke about school shooting draws armed officers

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Courtesy photo by Morton School District

Updated at 11:04 a.m.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS –  Morton Police Department Chief Roger Morningstar rushed into Morton High School yesterday carrying a long gun following a report of a student at the school with a firearm.

The entire school district was put in lockdown at the time of the approximately 3:15 p.m. call, but it turned out the initial report was based off of a statement made between students joking about a shooting, according to authorities.

“We take threats such of these seriously and will take immediate action to safeguard our children,” the chief posted on the department’s Facebook page. “Everyone at the school was safe and no one was hurt.”

The chief said he, another officer and a Lewis County sheriff’s deputy arrived within three to four minutes and immediately entered the building armed.

Morningstar asked that everyone understand these sorts of threats are no laughing matter.

“We ask that our students understand that this is not a joke,” he wrote. “This is not funny. This is serious and lives are placed at risk with inappropriate comments, jokes or exaggerations.”

The chief said a thorough investigation revealed the students were joking and no criminal charges will be filed.

Morningstar stated that such reports will be handled as “real world” events. Anyone who makes substantiated threats or false reports will be charged accordingly, he wrote.

The Morton School District said it happened after school was let out and the busses had departed.

“We would like to thank Morton Police Department and the Lewis County Sheriffs Office for their prompt response and resolving the incident,” the District stated on its Facebook page. “We would also like to thank our students and staff who responded appropriately and kept everyone safe.”

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 27th, 2018 at 10:51 am and is filed under Top story of the day. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

One Response to “Morton police: Joke about school shooting draws armed officers”

  1. BobbyinLC says:
    Friday, March 2, 2018 at 10:19 am

    What a novel concept. Police responding to protect lives. Not like in Florida where at least one deputy and maybe three others never entered the school while the shooter was killing people. Good job Morton PD