Friday, October 15, at approximately 8:45, South went into lockdown due to a report of a gun. In a brief sent to families, MCCSC stated that administration received a report from a concerned student that another student had a firearm. The student was found to be in possession of a pellet gun and was taken into custody by Bloomington Police.

Sophomore Kenna Dickens was in her World History class with Stephanie Warner when the announcement came over the PA. “In the lockdown I felt panicked, unsafe, and I was praying. I’m happy my classroom took proper precautions and we were practically silent,” she said. “I still felt very panicked when we got off of lockdown. I’m just super grateful it’s almost the weekend.”

Other students initially thought it was a drill. “My teacher left the lights on during the lockdown, so it didn’t seem like a big deal to me,” said sophomore Eva Rockhill. “I thought it was a drill. Especially because some of the kids in my class were making jokes and were not completely silent. Once I realized that it wasn’t a drill and the person with the gun was now in police custody, I didn’t think much about it anymore.”

All security measures were followed and South administration reports the school is cleared of all dangers. Students were able to resume normal school activity within the hour.

This event follows the September 30th discovery of an 9-mm handgun and loaded magazine found in a South student’s bag.