Kennewick middle school locked down after text threatens shooting

The second Kennewick middle school in less than a month was locked down Friday after a threat made via text message was relayed to school officials.

Horse Heaven Hills Middle School was locked down for 30 minutes Friday morning after a text message involving a gun threat to the school was reported by a student, said a release from the Kennewick School District.

A teen boy threatened to “shoot the school,” said Kennewick police.

The boy was not on the school’s Vancouver Street campus. He was found at home and arrested on an unrelated warrant, police said.

The investigation of the threat will be reviewed by the Benton County Prosecutor’s Office, police said.

The involved teens were 13 and 14 years old, police said.

District spokeswoman Robyn Chastain said the incident isn’t related to a similar one that occurred at Highlands Middle School on Nov. 21. Police took a 14-year-old boy into custody after he made a threat against Highlands in a text message, putting the school on lockdown for more than an hour. That incident was also reported by a student.

District officials sent messages to parents through its email and text alert system about both lockdowns but noted that there was no immediate danger to students and the moves were made as a precaution.

The district also advised parents that they shouldn’t visit the school to pick up children until a lockdown is lifted as all doors are locked and law enforcement may have blocked streets.

This story was originally published December 11, 2015 at 10:46 AM with the headline "Kennewick middle school locked down after text threatens shooting."