Report of man with gun prompts school lockdown
Several schools were put on modified lockdown after reports of a man with a gun in central Columbia on Tuesday afternoon.
Douglass High School, Jefferson Middle School, Ridgeway Elementary School and Park Avenue Preschool were all placed on modified lockdown at about 2 p.m. after officers were sent to the area of North Eighth Street and Wilkes Boulevard for a person with a gun. Columbia Police Department spokesman Jeff Pitts said dispatchers received reports of a man wearing a tan cap, black shirt and gray sweatpants carrying long gun.
Police did not find a suspect but extra officers were sent to the schools until after students were released, Pitts said.
The modified lockdown was issued as a precaution, CPS spokeswoman Michelle Baumstark said. Access to the building was restricted, and the school day continued as normal inside the building, Baumstark said.
