False alarm triggers police response

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The Seymour Sixth Grade Center was placed under an active shooter scenario Wednesday following what appears to be a false alarm.

Police were called to the school, 1000 S. Poplar St., around 3 p.m. on an active shooter alarm.

Superintendent Brandon Harpe said the school was not under a threat, but that one of the multiple alarms activated. Police and the school are investigating whether the system malfunctioned or if it was set off intentionally or by mistake.

Students typically do not have access to the panic buttons, Harpe said, but they are trained to respond to those situations differently.

"We’re still getting to the bottom of what happened," he said.

Multiple officers were on scene with guns drawn outside the building.

Harpe said he was thankful the situation was resolved and there was not a real active shooter scenario.

"Nobody was ever in any danger and we appreciate our partnership with local law enforcement," he said. "Our students and staff was able to implement a lock down situation and Seymour police were here in a matter of seconds."

More than 400 students attend the school and more than 30 staff members. There was not a school resource officer at the school at the time, Harpe said.

Bus drivers were instructed to park at Gaiser Park until the situation was cleared, and Harpe said there were a number of people who cooperated from the drivers to parents.

"We’re also happy with our parents because they did everything we asked and were very understanding," he said, adding police also immediately set up a perimeter and secured the school.

Talmadge Reasoner, assistant principal at Seymour High School, also responded the center. He said schools are required to conduct active shooter drills annually.

"We practice these things and are prepared," he said. "Our local law enforcement practice with our facilities quite a bit."

Harpe said being prepared for the scenarios is something Seymour Community School Corp. values.

"This is why we practice and this is why we drill because we are happy with how this turned out today," he said. "It was a very scary situation at first."

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