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Schools lock down in Montezuma, Dolores counties

No actions taken at Durango schools
Colorado State Patrol troopers helped block traffic as Dolores schools were put on lockdown after a perceived threat on Facebook. Montezuma-Cortez High School and Dove Creek High School also were briefly placed on lockdown.

Several schools in Montezuma and Dolores counties were ordered to lockdown Wednesday morning after a threatening message was reportedly made on a Facebook post by a juvenile girl in Durango.

The lockdown, beginning a little after 10 a.m., involved schools in Dolores, Cortez and Dove Creek. It ended at 12:05 p.m. No lockdowns occurred in Durango-area schools.

There were no reported injuries or incidents as a result of the threatening message.

According to a preliminary report called “School Lockdown Follow Up,” released on the Montezuma County Sheriff’s Office’s Facebook page, a 15-year-old girl admitted posting April 8 photos of a person with a gun to their head, someone drinking bleach through a straw and two other pictures.

According to the sheriff’s report, the girl “meant to convey how she felt about going to school the next day.”

The report states that further investigation revealed the girl was a former student at Dolores Schools. As a safety precaution, Dolores schools went on lockdown. Because the messages were not school-specific, Cortez and Dove Creek High Schools also were locked down.

Based on a tip from the Montezuma County Sheriff’s Office, Durango law enforcement was able to track the juvenile down and interview her.

It is unknown if the girl was charged or detained. Whether she had a firearm was also not revealed. Her name was not released.

Information on the incident came through the Montezuma County Sheriff’s Office’s Facebook page and Nixle releases from the Sheriff’s Office.

Dolores Schools went on lockdown first, after being notified the girl had been a student there.

“The Facebook message by the juvenile was a general thing that could be perceived as a threat,” said Montezuma County Undersheriff Lynda Carter. “Given the amount of school shootings across the country, we always err on the side of caution, so the lockdown was appropriate.”

Officials are confident the threat is over, Carter said, and that students and parents can feel safe about going back to school.

“It’s been resolved,” she said, adding that “everyone performed well in the emergency of this type.”

According to messages left for parents of Dolores students, at 11 a.m. the condition was changed to “lockout,” meaning students could move about inside the building, but nobody is allowed in or out.

The lockdown was expanded to include Cortez and Dove Creek schools before being canceled for all schools a short time later. Montezuma County Sheriff’s Office deputies and Colorado State Patrol were on scene investigating and securing the schools.

The incident involved law enforcement from Montezuma, Dolores and La Plata counties.

The Mancos schools were never placed on lockdown. Superintendent Brian Hanson said after he heard about the threatening message, he contacted the Mancos marshal, who said there was no need to go on lockdown.

The marshal told Hanson that he would find out more information. “We didn’t know about it long enough to make the decision to go on lockdown before the other schools were off,” Hanson said.



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