As McKinleyville High School and Morris Elementary School were on lockdown, a search for a suspect turned up nothing

Deputies received a report around 11: 25 a.m. of a man “possibly armed with holstered handgun on his waist” who was seen entering the McKinleyville High School campus.

“A community member saw two suspicious men in the community,” said Roger MacDonald, the Superintendent of Northern Humboldt Union High School District. “He believed that they were armed and called our administration or called the high school. Our admin immediately out of caution, put the school in lockdown.”

Both Mckinleyville High School and Morris Elementary School were placed on lockdown by school administrators as a precaution. This lockdown lasted about an hour. The superintendent said it was a stressful and scary moment. 

“I think being prepared really made it a heck of a lot better for everybody,” MacDonald said. “This afternoon, we have student support services staff from our high school coming over to help as well in case some of our students or staff were affected by the lockdown.”

After a thorough search was made by Humboldt deputies, California Highway Patrol, California State Parks, and Blue Lake Tribal Police, law enforcement was unable to locate the suspicious subject or identify any threat to the students, staff or neighboring area.

“Sort of a sad state of affairs that we need to be prepared for these things,” MacDonald said. “But we do and I’m really grateful for all of our staff for taking it seriously.”

As law enforcement cleared the campuses, they received a report that a possibly armed man had been seen near the intersection of Highway 101 and Murray Road. A search turned up nothing. Anyone with information about this case or related criminal activity is encouraged to call the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office.