Two Breckenridge schools were locked down last Tuesday due to a nearby incident involving an armed individual.
Shortly after 10 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 1, officers from Breckenridge Police Department were dispatched to the 300 block of West Walker Street for an armed individual experiencing a mental health crisis.
Due to the proximity of the incident to schools, BPD Chief Bacel Cantrell immediately ordered officers to set up a perimeter and called Breckenridge ISD Superintendent Bryan Allen to lock down Breckenridge Junior High School and Breckenridge High School.
“Bacel (Cantrell) called me at 10:16 and said there was an active incident going on in the area and to lock down the schools, so that’s what we did,” Allen said. “We have trained for lockdowns and because of that, it all went as planned. He called back within four minutes, at 10:20, and gave the all-clear.”
Cantrell said the man they responded to had left the gun he was previously armed with behind and fled on foot.
“We were able to find him quickly and made sure he’s able to get the help he needs,” Cantrell said. “There was never a threat to the school, but it’s always better safe than sorry.”
Allen expressed his grat- itude for the chief and law enforcement officers, as well as for the faculty and staff of BISD, saying he is extremely confident in everyone’s ability to protect the students in high stress situations.
“Drills are one thing, but things like this, that are not planned, are another.” Allen said. “Everyone really showed that the procedures we have in place are effective and I’m proud of how everything was handled.”
