Students locked in all day during SWAT standoff near Richland elementary
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- Richland police arrested one suspect and staged a SWAT standoff near a local elementary.
- School implemented secure and teach lockout and kept most students inside all day.
- Officers used loudspeaker calls and explosive diversion devices; two people detained.
A Richland elementary school spent the entire day in “secure and teach” after a standoff started across the street.
“Secure and teach” is a procedure that sees the campus shutdown to visitors, but students are not considered to be in any immediate danger, according to information from Richland Schools.
Teachers continue with lessons, but students cannot be picked up until the situation is resolved. It’s not a formal lockdown, which sees lights shut off and students directed to hide.
Richland police surrounded a home on the 1600 block of Woodbury Street about 9 a.m. Wednesday as part of an investigation into an armed robbery this weekend, a Richland officer told the Tri-City Herald.
Details about the robbery have not been released, but Richland police arrested one man, Salvador Pineda Jr., 32, Wednesday morning. He was booked into the Benton County jail on suspicion of first-degree robbery and first-degree assault.
Two other people, Cathrine E. Ellingsworth, 45, and Jaden P. Munoz, 27, were detained and later booked by Richland police on suspicion of the same charges, according to jail records.
SWAT response
Police began using a loudspeaker to call for occupants to exit the home, and used explosive devices that make noise and light.
The home is directly across the street from Jason Lee Elementary School. B.J. Sorenson, the district’s public information officer said the school went into “secure and teach” when police started their operation.
However, it didn’t stop one child from getting out about 12:30 p.m. and heading to a portable classroom.
He began crying and calling for help from the police after finding the portable door locked.
Staff ushered the student back inside.
As the standoff wore on through the morning, police asked for help from the Tri-City Regional SWAT team. At 12:20 p.m., police posted on Facebook that they believed one person connected to the investigation was still in the home.
Two others were detained.
Parents were able to pick up their children at the end of the school day.
This story was originally published January 14, 2026 at 4:43 PM.