Blair on lockdown, police nearby after reports of a weapon on school property

Blair on lockdown, police nearby after reports of a weapon on school property2

Photo: Police are staying on campus.

Police are staying on campus. Photo courtesy of Jonas Laufer.

Principal Johnson sent a letter informing the Blair community of details. The updated letter can be accessed here. 

The weapon was sighted outside of the art wing of the Blair building. 

Montgomery County Police arrived to secure the building, and Blair moved to a shelter in place around 2:24 p.m.

At 2:38 p.m., Principal Johnson announced that police have said a safe dismissal is possible, and students will be dismissed in order by floor.

“Out of an abundance of caution, we wanted to make sure everyone was safe in the building until police arrived to assess the situation. Our police are here, Montgomery County police, and they believe we are safe to dismiss,” Johnson said over the PA.

All after school activities were canceled.

School counselors were available for student support, and police remained on campus on Friday. Administration and security are still working to gather all details about Thurday's incident.

All those who were involved in the incident have been identified by police and administration. Two other conflicts involving students reportedly occurred as well — one in the school hallway and one across the street nearby. 

According to Blair security staff member Maureen Walsh, the afternoon was chaotic. “At the time, we had three different things going on. We had an incident with students that were at the McDonald’s, we had kids refusing to go to class in the hallways – a lot of radio chatter.”

No teacher was injured during student disruption in the hallway. It is still unclear whether the other event was related to the weapon sighting. Debriefing between staff, security and police continues.

Walsh noted that the students who reported the sighting were right to do so, and encourages students to do the same in the future.

This story will be updated as events unfold.