Blaine School District in lockout Friday due to graffiti found on school campus
The Blaine School District was in a lockout procedure due to graffiti found in a Blaine High School bathroom, according to a Friday morning emergency alert posted on the district’s website.
This is at least the fourth overall lockdown/lockout situation for a Whatcom County school in roughly a week.
Around 11:15 a.m. on Friday, Dec. 10, the school district posted an emergency alert saying its central school campuses were in lockout because graffiti had been found in a girl’s bathroom at the high school.
Law enforcement was on scene, and was providing an increased presence due to Whatcom County-wide threats of violence directed at schools, the alert stated.
“Although there is no verified threat on any of our campuses, we will be securing all campuses while the graffiti is investigated. No one will be permitted to enter or exit the campuses during this time,” the Friday morning alert stated.
The district will be lifting the lockout on its school campuses at the end of the day and pick up/student release will occur as usual at 2:50 p.m., the district said in an update it posted shortly after 2:30 p.m. on its website.
Friday evening Superintendent Christopher Granger posted on the district website: “Following a brief initial investigation it was determined that although the threat was not specific and it’s author had not been identified, securing our campuses while the investigation continued was the best decision for the safety of our students and staff.”
Lockout vs. lockdown
While they are similar, protocols for a lockdown situation versus a lockout situation differ.
A lockdown situation is initiated when there may be an immediate threat or hazard on the school campus, according to the Blaine School District. Students and staff are moved or stay in their classrooms, sit away from sightlines of the doors or windows, maintain silence and all doors and windows are locked and covered.
In a lockout situation, the exterior doors to the school are locked and students follow protocols for moving throughout the building due to a threat or hazard outside the school building. Students and staff are expected to return inside the building and have increased situational awareness, but business continues as usual, the district’s website states.
County-wide threats
Throughout the past week, multiple school districts across Whatcom County have experienced threats and others have had several lockout/lockdown situations.
Bellingham Public Schools has been dealing with multiple forms of electronic harassment and threats over the past week, which include harassing Instagram accounts with anti-LGBTQIA+, racist and threatening messages, and electronic messages threatening violence on specific school campuses, The Bellingham Herald previously reported.
Sehome High School canceled classes Thursday, Dec. 9, after the school received three threats and went into at least two lockdown/lockout situations in less than a week. In one of the lockout situations, a 16-year-old male student brought a Glock-17-style airsoft pistol to school, The Herald previously reported.
The student was released to his parents and charges for possession of a dangerous weapon on school facilities were referred to the Whatcom County Prosecutor’s Office.
Several other schools in the district, including Shuksan Middle School and Bellingham High, also investigated threats — which were determined not to be credible — this week.
In Ferndale, a student who reportedly brought a weapon to Ferndale High School, forcing the school into a three-hour-long lockdown on Wednesday, Dec. 1, turned himself in to law enforcement the following day, according to previous reporting in The Herald.
The weapon was seized and confirmed to be a BB gun. Charges in the case have also been referred to the county prosecutor’s office.
The Herald has reached out to the Blaine School District and the Blaine Police Department for more information.
This story was originally published December 10, 2021 at 11:47 AM.
