Colorado High School closed

[Rascal]

hopefully this is just a false alarm.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18590480/

BOULDER, Colo. - A high school was closed for the day on Thursday, shortly after being locked down amid unconfirmed reports that two masked men were seen entering the building.

Officers from various law enforcement agencies could be seen outside Boulder High School, and the entrances to the parking lot and the building were blocked off.

NBC affiliate KUSA reported that a SWAT team responded to the school after a school worker reported seeing two men in camouflage with ski masks inside the building.

The Boulder Valley School District Communications Director, Briggs Gamblin, said a cafeteria worker arrived at work Thursday morning and saw two men inside the school wearing camouflage gear with ski masks.

Gamblin adds that there are no reports of weapons but the worker contacted both police and district officials.

Classes normally begin at 7:30 a.m. but were delayed until 10 a.m. so authorities could conduct a sweep of the building. Officials closed it for the day shortly after that.

Boulder Police spokeswoman Julie Brooks confirmed that authorities were on the scene, but she released no further details.

Messages left with the principal and the school district were not immediately returned.

The school is blocks from the University of Colorado campus.

[footstepsfrom#27]

Yikes!

[scorpio]

I had to drive right in front of that school every morning last week for a training class at CU. Weird.

[Florida_Bronco]

Sounds like a good idea to just shut it down for the day and not take any chances.

[Dagmar]

My wife just called as they delayed opening CU as well. It's not that far from my house... :(

[Old Dude]

Any updates?

[Dagmar]

Nothing much new.

http://cbs4denver.com/topstories/local_story_130093006.html

Boulder High Classes Canceled By Police Search

By Colleen Slevin, AP Writer

(AP) BOULDER, Colo. Police launched a room-to-room search of Boulder High School early Thursday after a cook reported seeing two suspicious men in the building, both wearing camouflage and one wearing a ski mask.

Authorities said no classes or groups were meeting in the building at the time and the school was shut down.

The initial search by a dozen officers and a bomb-sniffing dog turned up nothing, but a second, more thorough search by a SWAT team was planned, city spokeswoman Julie Brooks said.

Police Chief Mark Beckner said there was no indication the men had been armed.

"We don't know if this is a prank, we don't know if this is a burglary, we don't know if it's something more than that," he said. "You really can't take any chances these days."

Classes were canceled for the day and teachers and administrators met students outside the building to let them know, said Chris King, deputy superintendent of the Boulder Valley School District.

About 50 students who were en route to the school by bus were diverted to another high school, and their parents were told they could be picked up there, school district spokesman Briggs Gamblin said.

Boulder High freshman Jake Hanifin, 15, said the incident didn't sound like a prank.

"I think it's hard to believe it's a joke if a kid comes in with a ski mask," he said while talking with friends outside a snowboard shop a few blocks from the school. "To push a joke to that limit would be pretty intense."

Sophomore Sara Fleegler, 15, who went to the nearby downtown district with friends, said the scare was out of character for "such a relaxed place" as Boulder.

"It's just crazy that people could be in the school when it wasn't opened up yet," she said.

Gamblin said no decision would be made on whether to hold classes Friday until police finished their searches.

Beckner said the cook spotted the men at about 6 a.m. on the first floor of the three-story building, and they ran when she yelled at them..

The cook described them as young but was unable to give a description of the one who was not wearing a mask, Beckner said.

Beckner said no threats against the 1,900-student school had been made in recent days.

Graffiti was found inside the building in late March or early April saying people would die on April 19, the anniversary of the Columbine High School shootings.

Classes were held that day with extra security, he said.

[BigPlayShay]

I predict that the cook spotted what will turn out to be 2 senior students that were planning a Senior prank. Sucks that the Sensitivity-O-Meter has to be constantly set to high, but this is the world we live in.

[Los Broncos]

I hope its a false alarm, im sick of people dying for nothing.

[Dagmar]

http://www.9news.com/news/article.aspx?storyid=69727

BOULDER –Boulder High School officials say there will class on Friday after police spent the day searching the school when a suspicious incident prompted it to close.

Boulder Police were called after an employee saw two people in camouflage inside the school Thursday morning.

At a 2 p.m. news conference, Boulder Police Chief Mark Beckner said a room-by-room search of the school finished without finding anyone hiding inside. Another search ended around 3:30 p.m., with investigators going through the school with staff members who are familiar with it, to make sure there was nothing out of the ordinary.

Authorities say a cafeteria worker arrived at the school Thursday around 6 a.m. and saw two men inside wearing camouflage. One had a ski mask. Beckner says it was a credible sighting.

No weapons were seen and there were no signs of a break-in at the school.

Boulder Valley School District Communications Director Briggs Gamblin says the worker contacted both police and district officials after the sighting.

"We don't know if it was a threat at all," said Beckner. "It could have been a prank, we don't know."

The school was released to the district on Thursday afternoon.

Officials decided to reopen for school on Friday, but say classes will resume with more police and district security on campus.

School officials also say they plan to open the building later for the rest of the school year. Doors will now open at 7 a.m.

There are video cameras on the exterior of the school, but Beckner says they were not very useful. However, he says the video recorded two people running eastbound from the school around 5 a.m., but he says he is not sure if that is connected to the school closure.

Around 4:30 a.m., a witness told police she saw around three to four people on the bike path behind the school dressed in black and one was wearing a ski mask. She says they exchanged pleasantries and one asked her if she had dropped anything.

Beckner acknowledged that incidents of school violence during the past 10 years have changed the way police respond to these situations.

"That's why we've taken the approach we've taken," Beckner said. "We can't take any chances."

Classes normally begin at 7:30 a.m. but they were cancelled for Thursday as authorities have spent the entire day conducting a room-by-room search of the facility.

Thursday morning, Julie Brooks, spokesperson for the Boulder Police Department, said all entrances were closed off during the searches and the school remains under lockdown.

Both Brooks and Gamblin stress that no threats have been received and this activity is in response to the suspicious incident.

"I do think our schools are safe," said Beckner. "We can't make our schools prisons."

Thursday morning's report prompted the University of Colorado at Boulder to temporarily close 19 buildings but they say all events and exams will continue as normal. Students and staff are urged to report any suspicious persons or behavior to the CU Police Department at 303-492-6666 or call 911.