Lockdown at West High School in Billings Determined to be False Alarm

Early yesterday afternoon (02/14) Billings West High School went under lockdown due to reports of a weapon threat. Parents received a call from School District 2 at around 1:43 p.m. this afternoon informing them of the threat, but checking the website at 3:30 p.m. shows that the lockdown was lifted, clarifying that the reports were inaccurate and that there were no weapons on campus at all.

I don't seem to remember this happening when I was in school

This made me think about my time in high school, where I never experienced a lockdown of that magnitude before. Of course, I do remember a couple of times where the drug dogs came into the school when someone was suspected to be in possession of illicit drugs. But, I don't recall ever experiencing a weapon or bomb threat in any capacity while attending school in Billings. Residents are also amazed at the increase in these threats:

My daughter is a Junior at West High. Since she's been enrolled there, she's gone through three separate lockdowns; two of them happened in the same year, once at West, and once at the Career Center. I only had one while I was in school, and it wasn't even weapon related. It's crazy.

- Lacey Sullivan

 

Statistics for threats in Billings Schools

While we don't have the actual statistics at this point, Administrative Lieutenant Brandon Wooley of the Billings Police Department said via Email that only a handful of threats out of School District 2 have had follow-ups from the investigation division, because School Resource Officers generally handle these threats quickly and efficiently. Lt. Wooley also stated that the FBI's Guardian system may also assist in determining threats to students in School District 2. Information and statistics regarding the number of lockdowns will be posted here when we receive it.

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You can listen to the voicemail that parents received from School District 2 regarding the West High lockdown being lifted below.