Two Meridian elementary schools were placed on lockdown only hours apart Thursday.
About 11 a.m., a lockdown notice was inadvertently sent from a phone inside the Meridian Elementary School at 1035 NW First Street, according to the Meridian Police Department.
Officers searched the entire school, just to make sure everyone was safe.
“About ten minutes after the alarm was activated, we realized it been triggered inadvertently,” said West Ada School District spokesman Eric Exline.
“Less than a half-hour later, everything was back to normal,” he added.
District officials are investigating exactly how the alarm had been accidentally activated.
Then, about 1:30 p.m., Ponderosa Elementary on 2950 N. Naomi Avenue was placed on lockdown, after a staff member “perceived a threat outside of the school,” according to police.
A full security protocol was put in place to make sure the buildings were secure, and the students and staff were safe.
“A staff member at the school heard what sounded like gunfire in a nearby neighborhood,” Exline said.
Standard lockdown procedures were immediately put in place, as a precaution.
“Law enforcement concluded there was no threat to anyone on campus,” Exline stated.
And the shot that was heard? “A gun manufacturer a mile away from the school was test firing a weapon,” said Meridian Police Deputy Chief Tracy Basterrechea.
