The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Law enforcement presence at all district campuses
By Kendra Walker and Katherine Nettles
Earlier this week on March 10, the Gunnison Watershed School District implemented a safety lockdown due to a phone threat at Gunnison High School (GHS). The Gunnison Police Department has since confirmed the call was what they consider a “false claim,” based on their ongoing investigation, and probably related to other such false claims happening around the state and nation.
Gunnison Police Department deputy chief Frank Rodriguez told the Crested Butte News that at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday morning, “the Gunnison High School receptionist received a threatening phone call from a male voice stating that he wanted to do harm to the school—not any individuals but the school itself.”
Rodriguez said that, “Rightly so, the school reported it to law enforcement and the Gunnison Police Department and several supporting agencies immediately proceeded to secure the perimeter and inside of the school.”
The school district then issued a safety notification that all Gunnison schools “have been placed on a proactive lockdown while law enforcement evaluates a potential threat.”
School district superintendent Leslie Nichols emailed staff, parents and students regarding the safety lockdown. The school went into “Lockdown” status, with students remaining in classrooms and no one entering or leaving the building.
Nichols said Gunnison Police responded immediately with responders also from Gunnison Sheriff’s Department, Colorado State Patrol and Gunnison EMS. “All students and staff were safe in their classrooms,” she said.
Once the Gunnison Police secured GHS, the school at 11:25 a.m. moved from “Lockdown” to “Secure the Perimeter” status, with classes continuing as usual inside the building and no one entering or leaving.
In response to the threat at the high school, Nichols said Gunnison Community School and Gunnison Lake School went into “Secure the Perimeter” status, and the Crested Butte Marshals with support from the Mt. Crested Butte Police Department established a presence at Crested Butte Community School (CBCS).
Once the school had been locked down and secured, authorities obtained the phone number the call had come in from and according to Rodriguez, “We were able to start investigating it.”
“The initial investigation into the phone number used supports the use of voice over IP (VOIP) which indicates a false report,” the Gunnison Police Department shared online. “Unfortunately, this has become a common occurrence across the country.”
Nichols said CBCS continued regular operations with active monitoring of all communication channels. Any Gunnison school field trips that had not left were canceled, and recess was held indoors.
Police presence continued for the remainder of the day and through release time at all school district campuses. All Gunnison school extracurricular activities, athletic games and practices were cancelled that afternoon, while CBCS after-school activities and athletics continued as scheduled.
“Law enforcement is maintaining an increased presence at all of our campuses through tomorrow and beyond as needed,” said Nichols. “The support from Gunnison Police Department, Gunnison Sheriff’s Department, Colorado State Patrol, Town of Crested Butte Marshal’s Office and Town of Mt. Crested Butte Police Department has been exceptional.”
“It was a huge team effort,” said Rodriguez. “Just about every agency in our county showed up. The false claim has not changed our response or our posture toward the schools, and we will continue keep a watchful eye on them this week.
“We want to thank all the agencies and school faculty, the superintendent, the families and the students—they did a great job,” added Rodriguez. “It highlights the community we’re all a part of here.”
