BURNSVILLE, Minn. — Officials say there was no weapon found inside Burnsville High School and are releasing students from lockdown.
In a letter to families, school officials say students will be released classroom by classroom, and buses will run their normal routes.
Families that are planning to come and pick up their students are being told to enter campus by the activity center. All after school athletics and activities have been canceled for the day.
According to a post on the Burnsville High School website, the school first went on lockdown at 11:30 a.m. "due to a report of a weapon in the school."
Principal Dave Helke said in the original post that police were searching the facility but there was no confirmation of the gun report. In subsequent updates he assured parents and families that students and staff were safe, and said no gunfire has been reported.
Helke told parents just after 2:30 p.m. that when school officials receive clearance from law enforcement, students would be released in a "structured dismissal." The principal said staff would release students classroom by classroom, adding it would take longer than on a usual day.
According to a tweet from Burnsville Police, no injuries have been reported and officers have completed their search of the school. They say investigators will continue to look into the report.
Outside the school, a police officer assured a group of parents that their kids are safe and "nothing has happened." He said that officers are still searching the school, and it might be awhile before students can be released.
Jerry and Michelle Ong were among those who came to the school after getting the message from the principal, and a text from their son Joseph, who is a 9th grader.
"You could tell he was trying to calm himself down, so we quickly drove down here just to see what was happening," said Jerry Ong.
"Very stressful," added his wife.
This is a developing story. KARE 11 has multiple crews on the scene who will provide more details as new information becomes available.
More local news from KARE 11
Watch more on our YouTube playlist: