UPDATE: 3 schools take precautions because of possible gun sighting near one

1:23 PM: Seattle Public Schools confirms that West Seattle Elementary is in lockdown and Gatewood and Sanislo Elementaries are in “shelter in place” because of the same incident: A WSES student reported possibly seeing someone drive by holding a gun. The gun was not reported to be pointed at anyone, and was not fired, but just to be on the safe side, the schools have taken precautions. SPS says police are checking around the area.

1:30 PM: SPS spokesperson Luke Duecy says all three schools are back to normal. Nothing found by SPS as far as we have heard.

7:05 PM: Thanks to Katia for uploading (in her comment below) a photo of the letter sent home by WSES principal Vicki Sacco. The text:

Today at approximately 1:00 p.m. three students reported an issue of concern while they were on the school playground. They observed a car drive past the school and the driver showed them that he had a gun. The adults in charge immediately brought all students inside the building and the school went into a lockdown.

Within minutes the police department and school security arrived. They gathered information and thoroughly checked the school building and campus to ensure that everyone was safe. As an adde d measure the police and district security will be a presence at dismissal time this afternoon.

Eric March 3, 2016 (3:01 pm)

As a gun owner with a CPL, I’m getting sick of hearing the stupidity that keeps popping up on the blog about shootings and this and that about guns. It’s getting ridiculous!!

Shootings happening because cowards under the guise of living the “thug life” can’t deal with issues without resorting to violence because they have the emotional maturity of a knat, while other morons like the guy who pulled a gun on Delridge and ended up getting shot because the guy was looking at him “weird”.

I for one am for tightening up gun laws and closing loopholes. Anyone who buys a gun should have to take a class AND pass it. We make people take a class and pass a test to drive a car and that is not even categorized as a weapon.

Speaking of which since I’m on my soap box. This NRA rhetoric trying to re label what a gun is, is nonsense. A gun is not a tool that if used wrongly can cause injury or death. A gun is a weapon, period. A hammer is a tool that has a primary purpose of driving a nail or something else)through a surface. That is it’s its primary purpose. It CAN be used as a weapon as a secondary purpose. A gun on the other hand has the primary purpose of inflicting injury and/or death or the threat of inflicting injury and/or death. That is classified as a weapon, period.

If there is going to be any discussion on guns, people need to stop trying to be clever with slick marketing attempts of trying to re label something to be what it isn’t.

* stepping off the soap box*

Jay Koster March 3, 2016 (3:04 pm)

As I was leaving with my kindergartener, I saw two bike officers, a patrol car, and the mobile precinct van there. I’ll upload a scan of the letter that came home with my son shortly.

katia March 3, 2016 (4:41 pm)

The letter that was sent home with my son from west Seattle elementary

WSB March 3, 2016 (5:01 pm)

Thanks, Katia. I’ll see if I can pull that up into the story, too.

Jay Koster March 3, 2016 (6:37 pm)

Katia beat me to it! Thank you, Katia!

ClayJustSayin March 4, 2016 (8:40 am)

+Eric

Good point about the purpose of guns. Your point also applies to cars, which are designed to transport people safely. Doesn’t always work out that way!

Sorry, comment time is over.