False alarm at ACMS triggers full lockdown
Shortly after classes began on Tuesday morning, Oct. 28, American Canyon Middle School went into full lockdown.
While students regularly practice lockdown drills, this alert was not a drill.
“My kid texted me around 9 a.m. that the school was on lockdown,” said Mike Duenas, a parent of a sixth and a seventh grader at American Canyon Middle School. Duenas and his family chatted while ordering lunch at Cooked by Gio’s.
All students and staff were reported safe.
A message sent to Duenas and reviewed by the Current stated that a “new campus-wide security system inadvertently triggered the full lockdown protocol instead of the staff support request function.” The message was signed by ACMS Principal Brian Howard.
American Canyon Police communications representative Lieutenant Nicol Dudley, confirmed that a teacher was attempting to activate a support alarm, but set off the alarm in such a way that a full lockdown ensued.
Teachers and substitutes now are issued badges, which they are trained to use to press an alarm once to summon help and multiple times in the event of a school-wide threat, such as an active shooter.
Duenas was at the school while the lockdown happened. “I was in the office,” he told the Current, adding that the lockdown was specific to an “active shooter” protocol. He was locked in the office for a portion of the event with school administrators. When he was released, he found that students, including his son, continued to be locked in classrooms.
According to Duenas’ son, Joseph, the instructions “run, hide, fight” were repeated from a loudspeaker during the lockdown. This is also the message broadcast during the lockdown drills.
While rumors of a firearm were circulating among ACMS families, Napa Unified School District communications rep. Julie Bordes confirmed that there was no gun or active shooter.
Duenas added that after receiving the text from his son, it took up to an hour before he received any clarity from the school about the situation. “Something like that should be sent out automatically,” he said.
While Duenas and other parents have expressed concern about the new alarm system, the school district is optimistic about the system’s responsiveness.
“This experience gives us confidence that the emergency response system works as expected to keep the American Canyon Middle School community safe,” Principal Howard wrote in his message to parents.
