R.A. Long High School locked down briefly after report of weapon
Friday, September 26, 2008 10:16 PM PDT
By The Daily News
Printable version
E-mail this articleR.A. Long High School was locked down for about 40 minutes Friday morning after school officials received a report that students may have had a weapon near the school.
Police later took three students into custody and seized an air soft gun, according to school district spokeswoman Sandy Catt.
The incident began when a 911 caller reported, a possible firearm near the school. Police responded and district officials locked down the school at 7:50 a.m.,
meaning students were kept in classrooms until police determined a threat no longer existed.
Police worked both inside and outside of the school, and at about 8:15 a.m. they took one student into custody. The student did not have a firearm, Catt said.
The lockdown continued until about 8:30 a.m. when police determined no additional threat to the school existed. Officers continued to investigate the neighborhood and at 8:45 a.m. they arrested a second suspect and seized an air soft gun.
Catt said a third student also was taken into custody. She did not know early this afternoon whether the gun was recovered on school property or where the second and third students were arrested.
A motive for bringing the air soft gun to the school area was not immediately available, she said.
“Our students and staff are to be commended for handling the lockdown in such a quick and orderly fashion. Our practice has paid off. In addition, information provided by students was essential in resolving the situation quickly.”
L-Town Groupie wrote on Sep 26, 2008 2:33 PM:
" Seems to me like the Daily News is a little off on their reporting. This happened much later than the reporter indicated, and students were locked into the school until almost 11:00am. Get your story together TDN, before you report. Proofreading works wonders, too. "
K wrote on Sep 26, 2008 2:35 PM:
" Thanks for taking so long to report on this! Geez! Some of us have kids in the school and need to know what's going on! "
hawkster wrote on Sep 26, 2008 2:36 PM:
" two things come to mind while reading this. one, they found the gun after the students had been out of lockdown. why not keep the students in lockdown for another hour if the threat is serious and nothing has yet been found? and two "a motive for bringing the air soft gun to the school area was not immediately available". was the air soft gun actually on school grounds? an air soft gun can only do any damage if aimed directly at an eye. to me if someone brings such a gun to school it is because the person doesnt realize the fake gun can be easily mistaken for a real gun and cause fear like this. kudos to the 911 caller who acted as they should have though as this easily could have been a real gun. "
PIrate Wench wrote on Sep 26, 2008 2:43 PM:
" There was no motive, he was just being stupid and not thinking. I know one of the kids personally and it was not one of the smartest things he's decided to do. There is more to this story that has not been said, but until I get all the facts, I won't say anymore. "
mrsw wrote on Sep 26, 2008 2:45 PM:
" Breaking news at 2pm? This is old news by now. Would have been nice to have seen something this morning when the local radio stations were broadcasting and informing parents as to what was going on. Even if details weren't available this morning they could have at least put something online to let parents know there was a lock down and details would be provided as they became available. "
DW wrote on Sep 26, 2008 3:00 PM:
" How sad. When I was in High School I belonged to the gun club. We brought our rifles and shot guns to school, and checked them in at the office. After school we all went up to the schools shooting range with one or two teachers and target practiced a couple times a month. No one got shot, no one threatened to shoot anyone and we got some good fire arm safety training. Now you can't even have something resembling a bb gun anywere near a school and everyone goes nuts. How sad to see us become a bunch of "OMG he's got a bb gun, CALL 911." And yes I know an air rifle can hurt someone pretty bad if they want to. It's just what has happened to us?? We put our kids on drugs when they act like little boys and girls. These drugs are being banned in other countries because it affects kids mental health. Then we wonder why they go balistic later in life after there brains have been scrambled by physcotic (sp) drugs. "
motherof3 wrote on Sep 26, 2008 3:21 PM:
" RE:L-Town Groupie
You are misinformed. It was not that late when the incident happened. I was texted by a friend of my son, who is a junior there, when they went into lock down. It was sent at 8:10 am and sent a second one at 8:31 saying lock down was over. Instead of blaming TDN maybe you should get your facts straight first. Thank you R A Long for making our childrens safety a priority. "
You are misinformed. It was not that late when the incident happened. I was texted by a friend of my son, who is a junior there, when they went into lock down. It was sent at 8:10 am and sent a second one at 8:31 saying lock down was over. Instead of blaming TDN maybe you should get your facts straight first. Thank you R A Long for making our childrens safety a priority. "
bucketball wrote on Sep 26, 2008 3:24 PM:
" Grest idea, lets lock down all the students inside the school with the gun so there no chance of escape if the kid decided to go on a rampage. Before you start bashing my comment just remember at the time of lockdown they didn't know what kind of gun it was or where it was. School lockdowns will not help anything if the weapon is inside. The only time the school should be locked down is if they know for sure the threat remains outside. "
taco wrote on Sep 26, 2008 3:27 PM:
" Amazing, someone thinks that the police took 3 hours to find a toy gun. This is totally not true. The Lockdown was over by the end of the first class period approx. 8:30(see the real facts on the school district web site). The students were great, the staff was professional, and the police were once again efficient, putting their lives in jeopardy against an unknown danger.
As far as this being breaking news, the TDN showed responsible restraint by NOT putting anything up until they got the facts. If the news had been up at 9AM there would have been very little truth, just reactionary drama-queen panic fodder. "
As far as this being breaking news, the TDN showed responsible restraint by NOT putting anything up until they got the facts. If the news had been up at 9AM there would have been very little truth, just reactionary drama-queen panic fodder. "
ltown wrote on Sep 26, 2008 3:33 PM:
" RE:DW Kids know now days that they are not allowed to bring any guns to school considering what has happened all over this country. In my opinion this was not a simple case of oops I didnt know better. We have to protect our kids and take any threats serious. I hope they make an example out of him to let other kids know that this will not be tolerated. So kids can go to school feeling safe and get a education. "
L-Town Groupie wrote on Sep 26, 2008 3:51 PM:
" Misinformed, huh? Interesting since I also received a text from a student in the building at 10:14am and she was still in a classroom with the door locked, lights off, and on the floor keeping quiet. I'm not saying that you are wrong, but somewhere there is a mix up in the timeline. Either way, it is agreed that the Daily News waited far too long to report this incident to concerned parents of the students that this affected. "
ltown wrote on Sep 26, 2008 3:57 PM:
" Lets all be thankful that this was not a real gun and nobody got injured or killed. "
DW wrote on Sep 26, 2008 4:01 PM:
" Itown, you missed my point. We never had problems like this when I was in school. And we weren't poisoning our kids with psychotic drugs just because they act like kids. One of the reasons that we have these school/college shootings is because the bad guys know that there aren't any guns at schools. When was the last time you heard of a guy walking into a police station and shoot the place up. It doesn't happen 'cause the bad guy knows the guns are there and he will be shot first. My 18 year old daughter goes to RAL. I would have no problem with a change in the law to let trained teachers carry concealed pistols on campus. If the fruit cake nut job that is going to shoot up a campus knew that the staff would be able to defend themselves I bet you would see a lot less of the school shooting thing. Oh now I've done it. The gun control freaks will see what I have advocated and all heck will break loose with this article. Let 'er ripp. I'm up for a good old calling out. "
taco wrote on Sep 26, 2008 4:02 PM:
" Amazing II. Believing a student text. If every text message was to be believed during the 30-some minute lockdown, we would have had a catastrophe of epic proportions. Telling students to NOT text during that time would be better as they had no accurate information. See the drama-queen reaction spoken of in my previous post.
Amazing III. No lock-down? If you have 100 students locked into five classrooms and one of them is the perpetrator you have limited the risk to 20 students and most likely the perpetrator may think they can get away with it if they keep quiet if caught inside. If there is no lockdown (doors locked and NO ONE gets in), you have put 80% of the students and staff out of harms way. Not perfect, but a lot better than putting 100% in harm's way by allowing access to unlocked doors. If you have a better solution than lockdown, let's hear it so we can improve. "
Amazing III. No lock-down? If you have 100 students locked into five classrooms and one of them is the perpetrator you have limited the risk to 20 students and most likely the perpetrator may think they can get away with it if they keep quiet if caught inside. If there is no lockdown (doors locked and NO ONE gets in), you have put 80% of the students and staff out of harms way. Not perfect, but a lot better than putting 100% in harm's way by allowing access to unlocked doors. If you have a better solution than lockdown, let's hear it so we can improve. "
UW Squirrels wrote on Sep 26, 2008 4:05 PM:
" L-Town, it is possible that the text message was delayed in getting to you. That happens, especially if you or the person sending it has poor reception (very much possible in a school building). "
Stag wrote on Sep 26, 2008 4:11 PM:
" To the daily news and to the Radio stations here in Kelso/Longview. How sad it to hear from my step-daughter before the news broke out about this. I would think that if someones child is in a school where there was a shooting that the parent wouldn't want to know when school was to get out. Shame on you guys that report the news in this town. Please think about this if you would, if it was your child in school would you like to hear it on the news at 2:30 pm or would you want to hear about it a whole lot faster that that?. As for the kids that did this I just feel sorry for the parents. I know that if it was my kid that did this I don't know if I could go out the front door of my house. I also know that when and if I could get them home I would care if they did call c.p.s. I would beat there butts. All I know is that this has to stop some how. I would like to thank the teacher at R.A.Long for there wise moves to protect my step-daughter. "
katydid wrote on Sep 26, 2008 4:50 PM:
" My great nephew is the one that had the gun..WHY?? Plain stupidity is the word. Sounds like the incident was not even at the school. Close proximity to 3 schools, if the truth were known. The one school closest was not even in the lockdown! Like Pirate Wench said, there is a lot more to this than a gun in the school. There was no gun in the school from what I hear. We all hope and pray that there has been one huge lesson learned here, if nothing else. AND NO, I am not condoning his actions. We all know in this day and age that nothing is safe and heading to school with an air gun is NOT a smart move to make. I just hope he learned his lesson in a big way. "
mrsw wrote on Sep 26, 2008 5:09 PM:
" The school is thankful their practicing has paid off, but as much as this event was not as bad as it could of been-seems to me that it has shown where the school/media is lacking in action. I don't care what the reason is for the school going into lockdown I think they should be required to alert the local media and the radio stations should broadcast for parents/guardians to hear. I was on my way to work this AM and heard the announcement on KLYK along with the report that 'Elementary busses were being diverted'. As a parent of an elementary student my first concern was "Do I need to pick up my youngster?" and the second was "Where are they diverting my child to?" Parents fear the unknown and if you give them some info they will be less likely to panic. In the future have an action plan in place so that the general community knows what is occuring. Lord forbid we are faced with an emergency, but if we all know what is going on we can react with the least amount of confusion. "
Kid wrote on Sep 26, 2008 5:12 PM:
" Ltown Groupie, you are mis informed on your information. A letter was sent out with the students telling the parents what all happened. It was over with by 0900 hours. Before you start to accuse tdn of mis informing the public, you should look into things before you speak. "
Kid wrote on Sep 26, 2008 5:14 PM:
" It doesn't matter that there wasn't a gun in the school. They took precaution in thinking that there was. Would you rather them not put the kids in lockdown and end up having a gun and having students get shot? I know who one of the kids involved was but i will not mention his or her name. What they did was wrong i agree, and they will spend time in Juvy for their actions. "
lola*in*longview wrote on Sep 26, 2008 5:20 PM:
" Hawkster, your off on your info, my kids go there and it ws the time reported. "
bucketball wrote on Sep 26, 2008 5:40 PM:
" I agree with you DW about guns at school. Heck I even remember in the mid 90's at Mark Morris people brought their gun to school only thing different was that they had them posted in their gun racks usually inside their trucks in the rear window and nobody got in trouble for that back then. I didn't seem like there were school shootings until the passage of the Brady Bill. Taking away or restricting of gun rights no matter how little will eventually lead to us "The People" powerless over our own government. Want proof? Just do a little research on countries that do not allow citzens to possess guns and then take a look at how their government runs and how it oppresses their citzens are because of their governments. "
TheGenius wrote on Sep 26, 2008 5:43 PM:
" Seriously, the kids aren't alright. They haven't been for quite a while either. Until parents start acting like, you know, parents, it's only going to get worse. On a lighter note, it's got to be a lot harder for kids to smuggle guns and knives and drugs in school, what with the skinny jeans and all. I mean, how the hell can they get a set of keys in there, let alone an arsenal? Honestly, this has to be one of the greatest crimes against style ever committed, on par Member's Only jackets and LA Gear sneakers. "
katydid wrote on Sep 26, 2008 5:54 PM:
" Kid, if you are speaking to me, NO. I am for the lockdown. You never know what it could be that is going on, and if I had a child or loved one at the school I would be for playing it safe. I also know one of the kids in this instance, and a bit more about what was going on. It was a bad move on his/their part, and now they will have to deal with the consequences. Sad, but so true. "
Real American wrote on Sep 26, 2008 6:18 PM:
" The kid did a dopey thing. Kids are supposed to be dopey and adults should set a better example of not overreacting. This kid should probably be sent to a re-education camp to learn that any type of gun (including drawing one) is evil. If this was a real threat with someone intent on shooting up a school, an assailant could easily go to any "gun free zone" and participate in what could be likened to a canned hunt. "
Cait wrote on Sep 26, 2008 11:07 PM:
" So, First of all I was at the school and even though it seemed like it lasted a really long time it was only like 30 minutes. This part is true, but also I have a friend who was held up along with all the other boys that have PE first period in the locker room, and are you hearing anything about that? NO! They don't want information to get out because they're scared that other kids will think it's cool. I don't think that will happen though, I think if more information gets out more people will become scared of this happening again and maybe we could take some more action like they did on that air line when someone tryed to blow up the plane! Maybe we could just take care of it all on our own?
Another thing that needs to be fixed is the fact that once a teacher locks their door no one else is allowed in. I understand this rule but I was almost locked out of every classroom this morning and if it had been real guns running around then I could have easily been shot. I'm not sure what they should do about this but something needs to be done! I've never been so scared to go to school ever before! "
Another thing that needs to be fixed is the fact that once a teacher locks their door no one else is allowed in. I understand this rule but I was almost locked out of every classroom this morning and if it had been real guns running around then I could have easily been shot. I'm not sure what they should do about this but something needs to be done! I've never been so scared to go to school ever before! "
ummrawr wrote on Sep 27, 2008 2:30 AM:
" Ummm.... yeah.... well I'm a student... and I go to Mark Morris... and they had an announcement that told everyone pretty much that shuttle busses were not running... and that even people with cars should not drive over to RAL... and before that... I had a text from my friend of what was going... everything was completely under control in time for 2nd period (around 9am) because principal mchattie got back on the intercom saying that it was ok to go to RAL and that students with their own transportation may leave... and the shuttles were back on schedule... I knew the kids involved.. no harm was intended... no biggie.... Kids flipped... thats okay... lol OH and YO!! skinney jeans are sexy on both guy or chick. umm and they told them not to text... people did anyway... TRUST ME. its the first instinct... lol teens love drama... so yeah... they WILL find a way "
jackal wrote on Sep 27, 2008 7:47 AM:
" In response to a few accusations that locking us inside the school was a stupid idea that put us in danger, you are wrong. I was at the lockdown. You lock the doors of the classroom, get out of sight of any windows, turn off the lights, make it as impossible as you can to see into the room, and remain quiet. How does that put us in danger? He would be roving the halls, unable to get in through the doors. If we all tried to run for it, out in the open, we'd be easy targets. "
lucky1 wrote on Sep 27, 2008 8:34 AM:
" I think my son got lucky on this. He and his friends used to always go have airsoft wars after school. So they would keep them in there car. I told him over and over that he better keep it in his trunk or he could get pulled over or someone see them and think they were real guns. "
my-kids-mom wrote on Sep 27, 2008 9:09 AM:
" All I can say, as parents, we are liable to teach our children, "School is not a place for guns, regardless if it's real or a toy". Either they didn't clearly get the message loud enough, or...they were testing how far they would get. Bad decision! Now, kids... what have you learned by your actions?...Just as I thought. "
TheGenius wrote on Sep 27, 2008 9:49 AM:
" Skinny jeans are terrible. The whole look basically encourages anorexia. I mean, you kids look like fools wearing them. It is a horrible look. "
The_insider wrote on Sep 27, 2008 10:25 AM:
" The insider must speak!
The TDN reporter left out so many important details and provided a few false facts. Also the L-town groupies comment about being in lockdown until 11 am is completely untrue. The insider is providing you with 100% true information on the situation purely because The insider was none the less (INSIDE!!!!). I was in the mens locker room with the students getting ready for early morning weight lifting when the lock down alarm goes off. Now since we just had a drill yesterday all the students laughed and didnt think nothin of it. Then they come over the intercom and say its not a drill! The students scrammed and got extremely loud with panic (not the best to do in this situation). I tried to calm the students and quiet them down but had no luck. At that moment Coach Rally Wallace storms in the locker room and tells everybody to SIT DOWN AND SHUT UP. Well most of us sat down but not many of them shut up . It is approx 7:55am now mind you. Coach Wallace walks out, then storms back in but this time with 2 officers. The Longview Police department with grins on their face walked to the back of the locker room near the showers and told the suspect to spread em. Wallace made sure the students stayed out of this room during this time. While cops checked the suspect. Wallace escorted students to the main gym. "
The TDN reporter left out so many important details and provided a few false facts. Also the L-town groupies comment about being in lockdown until 11 am is completely untrue. The insider is providing you with 100% true information on the situation purely because The insider was none the less (INSIDE!!!!). I was in the mens locker room with the students getting ready for early morning weight lifting when the lock down alarm goes off. Now since we just had a drill yesterday all the students laughed and didnt think nothin of it. Then they come over the intercom and say its not a drill! The students scrammed and got extremely loud with panic (not the best to do in this situation). I tried to calm the students and quiet them down but had no luck. At that moment Coach Rally Wallace storms in the locker room and tells everybody to SIT DOWN AND SHUT UP. Well most of us sat down but not many of them shut up . It is approx 7:55am now mind you. Coach Wallace walks out, then storms back in but this time with 2 officers. The Longview Police department with grins on their face walked to the back of the locker room near the showers and told the suspect to spread em. Wallace made sure the students stayed out of this room during this time. While cops checked the suspect. Wallace escorted students to the main gym. "
mustang wrote on Sep 27, 2008 11:04 AM:
" This is a classic example of the knee jerk society we live. Now two kids lives my be destroyed over a toy, All because someone could not tell It was made of clear plastic and had a bright red tip on it. I know one the kids very well and Im sure there are more of you that know one or both that were involved. The one I know is very respectful and polite he would never harm to anyone. He is now expelled from school for a year their goes their education, and studies show most people with out an education turn to crime. So now weve taken two kids that had laps in judgment and setting them up for a possible life of crime. Im not condoning what they did they were being very stupid, but they are kids, and doing stupid things once in a while is what makes a kid a kid. "
lola*in*longview wrote on Sep 27, 2008 1:13 PM:
" Mustang my son has several air soft guns and not one of them has an orange tip. "
Teencitizen wrote on Sep 27, 2008 2:52 PM:
" Re: Mustang With adrenaline flowing it can be hard to find little details in something. I had my friend make a good example of me, I was just walking around his back lot, and around the corner he came with a paintball point blank in my face, so I panicked and told him to get it down, He just laughed and showed me it had NO Paintball hopper, and no CO2 tank, two obvious things that dissapear with adrenaline "
jackal wrote on Sep 27, 2008 3:32 PM:
" I suppose this debate is now about skinny jeans. Let the clash of the fashion senses begin! "
tazer baby wrote on Sep 27, 2008 4:49 PM:
" hawkster...if they had kept the school locked down for the additional hour, that you asked about, you and everyone else (in the know) would be critisizing the authorities for overreacting.
It's absolutely amazing how this county's Armchair Quaterbacks never let me down concerning knowing what's best for our community without stepping foot into any of the situations. "
It's absolutely amazing how this county's Armchair Quaterbacks never let me down concerning knowing what's best for our community without stepping foot into any of the situations. "
Oh my wrote on Sep 27, 2008 8:51 PM:
" L-town groupie: my son was in locker room when the nabbed a kid there with the air soft. it was a little after 8 when he contacted me. we picked him up shortly there after. "
mustang wrote on Sep 27, 2008 9:14 PM:
" lola*in*longview I never said orange I said brite red tip and I know this toy did for a fact. "
mustang wrote on Sep 28, 2008 3:27 AM:
" Ok….For the individuals that feel that what is happening to these kids is just and fair along with how Longview PD is treating this need to lookup RCW 9.41.280 which is the law under which they arrested the kids under. Then check HB 3131 - 2007-08 this house bill deals directly with RCW 9.41.280 and hopefully you will be better informed and see where they tried to and Airsoft Guns to the list of dangerous weapons then someone had commonsense while in planning and remove Airsoft Guns because it’s a TOY………If a layman like myself can get this info and be properly informed. Why can’t are Police Department get this information? To do there job properly. "
RALMom2 wrote on Sep 29, 2008 12:09 AM:
" I am also angry it took so long for parents to find out about this lockdown. I believe the confusion of when it ended is because I know for a fact my son was in a room that did not get the message that it was OVER so they stayed in lockdown mode a lot longer than most of the other classes. My son was crammed in a very tiny windowless office with a lot of students that would not obey the teacher. Several students tried to make everyone be quiet in case there was really a gunman in the building because they had NO idea what was really doing on. Many students were upset that this teacher had NO control over her class & they felt they were in danger because she had no authority over this class. My son said everyone was talking loudly, texting, talking on cellphones despite the teacher pleading for them to be quiet so whoever was on the loose wouldn't know they were crammed into this tiny office. My son said they could not hear when it was over so they sat in the dark in the office for quite sometime. A sibling of one of the students called on the cell & told them it was over so THEN they were allowed to leave this office. My son was beyond upset that this could have been a very serious situation and nobody was taking it seriously & teacher had no control. "
juviekid wrote on Oct 5, 2008 9:25 PM:
" i know the whole story i was the one who brought it to school. first off it was a stupid mistake im never gonna make again. i was just gonna show it to a friend at the store and leave it in my backpack. well i showed it to my friend he asked to see it so i handed it to him we were all messin around and someone we know was walking to school just on the sidewalk leaving the store we were on the opposite side of the parking lot and he shot it and hit her. it didnt hurt her it was a plastic bb out of a spring loaded airsoft at estimated 30-40 feet. i got it back and put it in my bag and we walked to school. i was goin to my first class when my friend said that we need to hide the airsoft people were talking about a gun at the store and the lockdown bell went off and we had to go into a class they let us out 40-50 minutes later and we ran outside across the street and almost hid it when the principle from monticello pulled up and got it from my friend who i handed it to to hide it. then the cops pulled up and we got arrested
there was one that i heard earlier about the kid who got searched in the lockerroom and gave out mine and my friends name so they arrested "
there was one that i heard earlier about the kid who got searched in the lockerroom and gave out mine and my friends name so they arrested "
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