HOLLAND TWP., MI (WHTC-AM/FM, Apr. 21, 2024) – As Saturday was 25 years since the Columbine High School shootings near Denver, school districts nationwide were on heightened alert on Friday for any possible copy cat incidents.
Around 9:35 AM, a phone call was placed to West Ottawa High School, threatening violence, although the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Department did not indicate was type of violence was indicated. A School Resource Deputy assigned to the school was on duty at the time, and worked with school and district administration in implementing protocol for such a situation.
The district placed the High School and other nearby schools on lockdown while efforts were made to find any evidence of possible violence. A scheduled early dismissal of classes had extra security on hand to make sure that there were no incidents. Neighboring districts Holland and Zeeland also took measures as a precaution, but no issues ensued.
In a Facebook post, the Police Services unit of the Holland Department of Public Safety said they had helped the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Department with the West Ottawa High situation, and that “no threat was ever located. At this time, we believe (that) this was a false report with an investigation ongoing.”
No suspect or suspects were identified or apprehended over the weekend. Anyone with any information is asked to contact the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Department or Ottawa County Silent Observer (877-887-4536).
-Dan Evans contributed to this report
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