Lexington elementary school placed on lockdown during dismissal

Yates Elementary School was placed on lockdown during dismissal Thursday afternoon because of a situation outside the school in which there was concern about a weapon.

Yates Principal Twanjua Jones notified families about the lockdown in a letter.

“During dismissal this afternoon, we were made aware that an individual in the vicinity of our campus claimed to have a weapon. Out of an abundance of caution, we halted dismissal and brought everyone inside the building,” Jones wrote. “We called both the Fayette County Department of Law Enforcement and the Lexington Division of Police and were advised to place our school on lockdown as a precautionary measure.

“After the police responded, they determined that there was no danger and they assisted us with a safe dismissal.”

Lexington police spokeswoman Brenna Angel said there was apparently a verbal dispute when a woman confronted a man outside the school who appeared to be videoing or photographing the school.

“She expressed to school staff that she felt like he had a gun,” Angel said.

She said school staff called Lexington police at about 2:45 p.m. Angel said police reviewed video surveillance but did not see a weapon. They weren’t able to locate the man the woman had confronted.

“As far as we know, there was no gun,” Angel said. “We took the necessary steps based on the information that we had.”

“Although at no time today were our students or staff at risk of harm, we believe it’s important that we keep the family lines of communication open in order to assure you we are taking appropriate actions to ensure that Yates is a safe place to learn and work,” Jones said.

She said police will be on campus Friday morning to provide reassurance.

This story was originally published November 16, 2017 at 4:47 PM with the headline "Lexington elementary school placed on lockdown during dismissal."