Plastic gun spurs lockdown at North Bend schools

Two North Bend schools went into lockdown Wednesday afternoon, Jan. 28, in response to a report of a gun — which turned out to be part of a plastic gun — being brought to the Two Rivers School campus.

At about 3:20 p.m. Wednesday, the King County Sheriff's Department directed principals at Two Rivers and nearby North Bend Elementary to lock down their facilities.

The lockdown order was in response to a 911 call made by a citizen, who reported seeing a teenager brandishing what looked like a gun in a car while in the city limits of Snoqualmie. The citizen followed the car to Two Rivers School, and saw the teens in the car go inside the school.

Officers arrived and found part of a plastic gun outside the building. Officers also spoke with the teenagers who had been in the car. Sheriff''s Office spokesman John Urquhart told the Valley Record that no arrests were made, nor were any charges likely.

A statement by Snoqualmie Valley School District officials indicated that an investigation is planned. The school district will "take appropriate action, per district policy," according to the release.

The lockdown affected about 30 students at Two Rivers School, and roughly 20 students at North Bend Elementary.

North Bend Principal Jim Frazier said that most elementary students had gone home at the time of the lockdown. One bus route, headed to the Uplands and Wilderness Rim, had yet to leave. Students remaining on campus were brought back inside. Teachers locked all outside and classroom doors, and students sat on the floor inside a darkened classrooms.

"The kids did great," Frazier said. The school has plenty of practice with lockdowns, he said.

School officials stated that while the lockdown was disruptive and unsettling for students as well as families and staff, schools responded quickly and appropriately.

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