Officers respond to prank at school

Not a week after the tragic shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., where 20 children and six adult school staff were killed, local emergency personnel responded Tuesday morning to a report of a prank call made from a local elementary school alleging a fire and intruder inside the school.

Travis Shelton, interim chief of the Fort Scott Police Department, said several emergency agencies -- including local police and fire personnel, and the Kansas Highway Patrol -- responded "within a minute" to Winfield Scott Elementary School, a kindergarten- through- second grade campus, after police dispatch took the call and transmitted the report.

"We all responded," Shelton said. "The call was an unauthorized person in the school and that the school was on fire."

Shelton said police made contact with school officials once they arrived at the school and were "buzzed in" at the school's intercom security system. It was quickly determined by a teacher at the school that two students there had made the call while at recess. The students were brought to the office for school officials to handle the situation.

Winfield Scott Principal Zach Lemert declined to give the youngsters' names or grades "for the privacy of the students." He did say disciplinary actions were taken, although he didn't elaborate on those.

"Students made a prank phone call to the police department saying there was a fire and intruder at Winfield Scott," Lemert said. "The police responded incredibly quick."

Lemert said the students used a cell phone -- which is not allowed inside the school -- to make the call. The phone was snuck into the school inside a backpack and the students "snuck it out to recess," he said.

Lemert said school personnel did not know the call had been made until police arrived.

"That's when we found out," he said. "I just want to emphasize that at no point was anyone in danger (during this situation.)"

Lemert said the call was immediately found to be a joke and school officials did not have to evacuate the building or initiate any other emergency procedures.

"The police deserve a lot of credit for responding so quickly," he said. "I was very proud of our staff who handled everything correctly."

Shelton said police rarely deal with school-related incidents, including prank phone calls.

'Heightened alert'

Following the incident in Connecticut, Shelton said schools, emergency responders, parents and others everywhere are "on heightened alert," Shelton said.

The parent of a young child himself, Shelton said upon hearing the news of the shooting, he felt "the whole gamut of emotions.

"Mad, sorry for the parents, helplessness; pretty much what everybody was feeling at the time," he said.

As to what plans local law enforcement and first responders have in place to deal with such an incident, Shelton said the typical procedure for local police, if faced with an active shooter scenario, is to "respond and enter the school and try to find the threat."

FSPD Lt. Shaun West said there are two actions that typically result from an incident such as the school shootings in Connecticut; the active incident and the "fallout." During the active incident, local law enforcement agencies work with local emergency management personnel and medical responders to coordinate plans.

The "fallout" can involve a "plethora of agencies," such as the FBI, working on the case, West said.

West said probably the most helpful resource is the school resource officer, Toby Nighswonger, who serves as a liaison between the police department and area schools. Nighswonger works in all local schools, interacting with faculty, staff and students, taking note of any suspicious people or activities to help prevent incidents.

"We've had the same SRO who has for several years worked on multiple levels with multiple schools, and has a good relationship with all of the staff at the schools," West said. "That probably does more for safety than anything."

Another important component is communicating with community members, educating them and listening to their problems and concerns in order to help prevent future occurrences, West said.

"The largest impact is planning and education prior," he said. "We also work well actively listening to concerns, issues and problems."

Shelton said the primary mission of police at a crime scene is to "make sure everything is stabilized." At a large crime scene, local police will typically receive help from other local agencies. Any available on-duty emergency unit can respond to an incident. Sometimes, like with the use of a drug search warrant, tactical entry into a building is used.

Shelton and West said the police department is staffed with officers trained to respond to situations "in a swift manner." A plus for local police officers is having a thorough knowledge of school buildings and other facilities in case of emergency. West said each entity has a response plan for a particular event.

"With any school shooting, a working knowledge of the school building makes it easier," Shelton said.