ILockdowns at McAlester High School and Randy Hughes Middle School were lifted Friday morning after a campus-wide search for a gun reported by an anonymous caller came up empty.
McAlester Public Schools sent parents the following message Friday morning at approximately 10:25 a.m.:
“Thank you for your patience. The lockdown at Randy Hughes Middle School and McAlester High School has been lifted, and students and staff are returning to their normal schedules.
This morning, our MPS Campus Police Chief received an anonymous report of a possible weapon being brought onto the high school campus. As a precaution, both campuses were placed on lockdown while the high school was thoroughly searched room by room. Given the size of the campus, this process took some time. Thank you to the following law enforcement agencies: McAlester PD, Krebs PD, Choctaw Nation, Pittsburg County Sheriff’s Office, and Pittsburg County Emergency Management for their assistance this morning.
The safety and security of our students and staff remain our priority.”
McAlester Police Department Public Information Officer Lt. Kirk Johnston in a statement to McAlester Radio said a call was received Friday morning “on a blocked number that there was a gun on campus.”
Johnston said the schools were placed on lockdown and law enforcement conducted a hard search of the campus.
“No gun was found during the search,” Johnston said.