Update: Guymon School Lockdown

Students were concerned about the gun threats,” said a senior at Guymon High School. “The fact that school went on a lockdown made them feel safer.”

That’s the feeling that some students at GHS had after the school had been put on a ‘preventative lockdown’ Monday.

Superintendent of Schools Doug Melton told The Guymon Daily Herald that the school was put on the lockdown only as a precaution. According to him, there was a threat made last week to a student saying that an attack would happen Monday or Tuesday. As a result, the lockdown was continued through Tuesday.

“There was a threat made last Tuesday from one student to another and that situation has been taken care of,” Melton said. “The situation has since re-circulated.”

Students reportedly received text messages late Sunday night warning them to not go to school because there was going to be a shooting. The text message was circulating through much of the student body and had even spread to the popular social networking site, Facebook, by 11 p.m. Sunday.

Several students heeded the warning and stayed home from school for the day, fearing for their safety.

“When I heard what was going on, I went to the school and visited with both of them (children) and let them make up their own minds about staying or leaving,” said one concerned parent.

Parents needing to pick up their child were asked to go to the main office. The front door was the only door that was open so it could be monitored.

The Guymon Police Department was on hand to assist the Guymon Public Schools Police Department. Melton explained that normal classes were in session but that students were protected.

Officials say threats like these are taken very seriously. The lockdown was only a precaution but the students were kept safe.

“The safety of our students is very important,” Melton added. “That is our main concern.”