Clovis West High School and Fort Washington Elementary School went on shelter in place status Wednesday morning after yet-another phone threat was made, the district said.
It’s the third time over four school days that the northeast Fresno high school has been targeted with a phone call. As a precautionary move, the district also has ordered tightened security for Fort Washington, which is just across the street on Millbrook Avenue.
The district reported that both schools initially went on a brief lockdown on Wednesday morning followed by the shelter in place, during which regular instruction can take place.
The district’s message to parents said that Wednesday’s call to law enforcement was “mirroring the same source and language” as the two calls Friday afternoon and Monday morning that were determined to be hoaxes.
“We continue to take any such calls, even those that could be coming from out of the country, seriously and are taking these steps with thoughtfulness and close consultation with the experts in public safety who train daily to support our schools. Officers are completing a search of our campus while we continue in shelter in place, and law enforcement will continue to have a presence on our campus over the remainder of the day. We will return to normal operations once officers have completed their search of our grounds,” the district message said.
12:17 p.m. Update
Clovis Unified announced that the shelter in place has been lifted and the schools have resumed normal operations.
