Cascade Middle School placed in lockout over ‘threat’; arrest made

Bend’s Cascade Middle School was placed in a precautionary lockout for about an hour Friday afternoon due to “a threat to the school” that led to an arrest, the principal wrote in a letter sent home to parents.

“Classes are continuing inside as usual,” the Bend-La Pine Schools said in an emergency text sent at 1 p.m. Word came at 1:16 p.m., again by text, that the lockout was “cleared” and over.

School district spokeswoman Julianne Repman said police informed them the suspect was arrested at home and charged with disorderly conduct.

The school’s principal later sent this letter home to parents:

Cascade Middle School parents,

Cascade Middle School administrators, in partnership with the Bend Police Department, went into a precautionary lockOUT at approximately 12:30 pm today after school staff learned of a threat to the school.

The lockOUT lasted for approximately one hour. During the lockOUT all exterior doors were locked, students were brought into the building, access in and out (of) the building was restricted, and classes resumed as usual. Our students and staff did an excellent job of maintaining a sense of calm while putting into practice the skills that they have learned during our lockOUT drills.

I want to express my appreciation to Bend Police Department for their expeditious response to our school. Police were on scene almost immediately after we called for the lockOUT. Within approximately one hour they had made an arrest and released our school from lockOUT. They had officers on campus during their off site investigation. There is no indication that the suspect was on our campus at any time today.

I also want to make it clear that we will not tolerate copycats.Anyone found making threats to our school will be disciplined and subject to prosecution to the fullest extent of the law.

I greatly appreciate our students and parents having open lines of communication with our staff and law enforcement regarding rumors that they are hearing. The safety of our students and staff is paramount and any and all threats, credible or not, are taken as such. If you haven’t already done so, please make note of our office number (541) 355-7000 and the Text a Tip phone line at (541) 600-4267. You are welcome to use theseat any time to share information about threats to the safety of our students, staff and school.

The safety and well being of students and staff at Cascade Middle School is a high priority. Cascade Middle is a safe school that will continue to empower our students to thrive academically and emotionally.

Thank you,

Steph Bennett

Cascade Middle School, principal