Someone made a frightening phone call to a staff member on Thursday, resulting in a brief lockdown at a school in Southwest Portland. A spokesman for the Oregon Episcopal School informed KOIN 6 News about it in an email distributed to families at approximately 5:30 p.m. Rev. Michael Spencer, the head of the school, sent a letter outlining the circumstances, which KOIN 6 News also obtained.
All of this started at approximately 3 p.m. when a campus staff member received a threatening phone call “from outside the community.” Even though the individual was the target of the threat rather than the school, the campus was placed under lockdown within security protocols. The letter stated that all staff members and students were promptly secured in the school’s facilities. In less than ten minutes, the lockdown was fully implemented.
The school received quick help from the Washington County Sheriff’s Office in securing its campus. The lockdown lasted for 51 minutes at 3:51 p.m., police officials decided it was safe to lift the lockdown after an evaluation by the officers to make sure all the buildings were safe.
Students were allowed to return to their scheduled after-school activities under a controlled release, with officers staying on campus to assist with the student’s exit. At no point was there an active threat on the campus itself.
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