Parents and Community Members,
We are writing to you to provide information about the incident at Bedford Middle School this morning. The Bedford Area School District constantly prepares for all situations. Additionally, we work closely with law enforcement and many other governmental agencies to coordinate our emergency responses. On Wednesday, we provided a press release talking about our preparations, and they were put to the test this morning.
To describe this morning's situation, a contractor was repairing our sprinkler system, which triggered the fire alarm. With the recent events in Nashville and local fake phone calls to schools about active shooters this week, obviously, there are heightened emotions in schools and concerns about student and staff safety. Unfortunately, the fire alarm triggered unnecessary panic, and as a result, someone contacted law enforcement stating Bedford Middle School was in lockdown. 911 contacted Bedford Middle School, and as a precaution, the school went into lockdown. Law enforcement swiftly responded to the scene and was met by district officials who immediately communicated that the school was safe and secure and that there were no intruders.
As a result of our previous planning, the district was able to communicate to parents within minutes that students and staff were safe, and that law enforcement was on site. As always, we continued to communicate with parents as quickly as we could and reunified parents with their children as soon as possible.
Immediately following the incident, the district met with local and state law enforcement for an after-action debriefing. Although we never want to experience these situations, law enforcement commended the district for its preplanning and swift actions. We are incredibly grateful for the support we received from local and state law enforcement and proud of the efforts of our staff.
Parents, we know this was a traumatic situation for students and we are here to support students as they process today’s events. Please communicate any needs to your local building principals and/or guidance counselors.
Finally, we thank you for your support and we will continue to work and train diligently to create the best situation for your children and our students.