Weapons warning keeps Mercer Island middle school closed
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Islander Middle School will remain closed today and tomorrow while police continue investigating a warning about students planning to bring weapons to school.
The Mercer Island School District closed the school early yesterday after receiving an e-mail Tuesday night from an anonymous student claiming to have heard peers say the handgun found last Monday in the backpack of a 14-year-old Islander student is part of a larger plan still in motion, according to the district.
The boy was arrested for bringing an unloaded gun and two bullets to school.
Police searched the school for explosives, firearms and drugs for about five hours before declaring the area secure at 12:30 p.m. yesterday. They interviewed parents and children off site to try to determine the identities of the students involved in the alleged plot. Officials are still investigating the matter, the validity of the threats and the source of the anonymous e-mail.
"We feel very good about the status of the school right now," said Mercer Island police Sgt. Lance Davenport. "We know it's weapon-free, it's drug-free."
The district notified parents early yesterday that school would be closed and children should stay home. A few students did show up and were told to return home.
The school's entrance area remained bare and quiet yesterday, with three Mercer Island police cars and two King County sheriff's cars parked along the front driveway. Some students hung out at a nearby strip mall.
"It's kind of scary to think that people that we know might have killed people that we know," said Jenna Julich, a seventh-grader who spent most of her morning at a Starbucks.
Cheryl Ulie, whose daughter Alison is an eighth-grader at the school, said the threats are a reminder to always be cautious.
"It could happen anywhere, and that's why we can't sit back and think it's OK because we don't live in a big city," she said.
Citing Monday's arrest and how students came forward with information for police, School Board President Carrie George said she encourages children to do the same now.
"If any student knows any information about this situation, then I would encourage him or her to please come forward and talk to parents, teachers, principals, police," she said. "Not only for the protection of themselves, but also the protection of any kids involved in dangerous activities."
Young Chang: 206-748-5815 or ychang@seattletimes.com