CHANHASSEN, Minn. — Chanhassen High School was placed on lockdown and the building was searched by law enforcement Thursday morning, apparently after an alarm went off unexpectedly.
Police officers and sheriff's deputies swarmed to the school shortly before 9 a.m. when the lockdown went into place. Officials from both the Carver County Sheriff's Office and the Eastern Carver County School district confirmed the lockdown, but did not specify what triggered it.
Just before 11 a.m. the district released a statement from Chanhassen High School principal Doug Bullinger saying school officials believe an electrical malfunction set off an emergency alarm.
A district spokesperson later clarified that the alarm was not triggered manually, and said a technician is on site to check the entire alarm system.
"We have no reason to believe there was a threat to the school," read the statement from Bullinger. "As part of our process, the Carver County Sheriff’s Department and partner agencies responded and made sure the building was clear before we lifted the lockdown. At no time were our students in danger, but we are proud of our entire Chan HS community for the way they responded to make sure everyone stayed safe."
Bullinger added that school will continue Thursday, but recognized that a lockdown can be "scary" and said students who feel traumatized can opt to go home for the day. He also said counselors will be on hand both Thursday and Friday for students who need help processing the event.
The district earlier had posted earlier on Twitter, saying authorities were responding and in the process of clearing the high school. "There is no reason to believe there is an active threat," the post read.
Despite the fact that parents were asked to stay away from campus, a number showed up and gathered in a school parking lot after communicating with their kids. Multiple parents told KARE 11's Jennifer Austin that students had no idea what's going on, or what the lockdown was related to.
"We all were joking around, you know, we had a little concert going on in the back," senior John Kordonowy said. "We were singing, dancing and then I kind of started realizing like oh wait it's a bomb threat like we started kind of freaking out a little bit. We saw all the cops pulling up and weren't sure what's going on."
Law enforcement finished sweeping the building, and an all-clear was given.