LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Police provided new details about the hard lockdown at Shadow Ridge High School during a press conference on Wednesday afternoon.
During the briefing, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Assistant Sheriff Jim Seebock told parents and media that the suspect detained during the lockdown was a male student under the age of 18.
Initial reports to LVMPD claimed the underage suspect was "last seen in the hallways, possibly armed with a firearm," according to Assistant Sheriff Seebock. Arriving LVMPD officers made contact with CCSD Police to begin hard lockdown procedures, especially in the wake of the recent school shooting in Nashville.
"Kids were kept in classrooms while doing the search," Seebock said. "Through searching with school police, we located the suspect that matched the description and took them into custody."
Seebock said that police believe there was only one suspect involved, who will be "charged with making terroristic threats."
Seebock also added that no weapon has been located at this time, but police believe the suspect did have a weapon on campus. He also confirmed that multiple sweeps were conducted in classrooms, lockers and hallways to find the weapon or any others.
"The report came from another student who told an administrator, which triggered the call," Seebock added. "We communicated through the PIO office with parents through text messages, and started sending out notifications from the school as well."
Multiple law enforcement agencies responded to the school during the lockdown, including CCSDPD, LVMPD, Nevada State Police, City Marshals, and others.
Seebock described the increased response as a "cascade effect" that directly resulted from the comments made on campus.
"We want to ask parents to remind their kids of what is and isn't appropriate to say in a school building," Seebock said. "The situation could have been avoided if the young man didn't say anything."
Parents and loved ones were forming crowds outside Shadow Ridge after news of the lockdown was shared, prompting much frustration over the lack of communication between officers and families.
"We communicated as much as we could to families," Seebock said. "I'm a parent and know what it's like — it's scary and concerning."
CCSD Police are taking over the investigation and will communicate with parents about the controlled release of students.
CCSD Police Lieutenant Bryan Zink also added that the student hotline, SafeVoice is available 24/7 for anyone in the state to make anonymous reports to staff and teachers at CCSD schools.
