2 Hatboro-Horsham Schools Locked Down Briefly

An armed subject in the area caused the lockdown of Keith Valley Middle School and Blair Mill Elementary School Monday afternoon, according to the breaking news network.

In addition to the schools, the Hatboro-Horsham District Administration Office was briefly locked down Monday afternoon, after emergency officials alerted the district that there was police activity in the area. The incident did not pose a danger to any of the schools, students or staff members, the district said Monday. 

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The district was notified of police activity in the vicinity of Blair Mill Elementary by the Horsham Township Police Department and Montgomery County Emergency Dispatch Services at approximately 12:15 p.m. Upon receiving this information, the schools and administration office were placed on lockdown as a precautionary measure. Each building was secured and all students were kept indoors until further notice was given by emergency personnel.

Horsham Police Lt. Jon Clark told Patch Tuesday morning that police had received reports of a "suspicious person" in theAcme, near the bank inside. 

"It’s possible that the person was about to rob the bank and got spooked and ran out," Clark said. "Nobody actually confirmed that there was a gun."

Clark said the police "just wanted to be safe," so the decision was made to lock down the schools. 

The suspect, who was not apprehended, is described as a white male, wearing blue jeans, a dark hoodie and and a bandana, Clark said, adding that the information police have is "not an exact description."

At 12:50 p.m. Monday, police lifted the lockdown after notifying the district that police activity had finished. Once the lockdown ended, normal activity resumed at the schools and the administration building. Blair Mill Elementary and Keith Valley Middle School parents were notified about the incident Monday afternoon, the district said in a statement. 

“It is important to know that no students or staff members were in danger, however we are very pleased with the fidelity with which our students and staff members followed our lockdown procedures,” John Nodecker, district assistant superintendent for secondary education said in a press release.