An aggravated assault investigation near downtown Flagstaff led to a shelter-in-place order at two schools and an adjustment to the release of students by Flagstaff Unified School District on Monday afternoon.
The impacted schools, Flagstaff High School and聽Marshall Elementary School, were initially聽placed under a shelter-in-place order just after 2 p.m. according to an email that was sent to the families of students.
"Due to an ongoing police incident in the surrounding neighborhood, Marshall Magnet Elementary School and Flagstaff High School are currently placed under a Shelter-In-Place. A Shelter-In-Place is initiated when students and staff need to remain inside classrooms for their safety and protection from danger in another area of the school or outside of the building. Learning is continuing in the classrooms during the Shelter-In-Place. Additional communication will be shared with families when the Shelter-in-Place is lifted, or, if we need to modify our dismissal procedures. For questions or concerns, please contact your school site," read the email from FUSD superintendent Michael Penca, Flagstaff High principal Libby Miller and Marshall Elementary principal Janelle Reasor.
The police presence in the downtown Flagstaff area was connected to an aggravated assault investigation near Wheeler Park by the Flagstaff Police Department, unrelated to anything occurring at either school and with no ongoing threat to the city.聽聽
At 2:30 p.m., families of Flagstaff High students were told students who had planned to walk home were being held in the Flagstaff High School commons until the situation resolved or a guardian picked them up. Students leaving by bus or vehicle were released with staff supervision. Both decisions, the controlled release and the shelter-in-place order, were decided by FUSD itself and FPD was not involved in the decision-making process.