Avon Superintendent Explains Reason for Soft Lockdown

A letter from Superintendent Gary Mala on yesterday’s soft lockdown caused by an incident in New Britain.

Dear Parents, Staff and Concerned Citizens:

At approximately 12:30 p.m. today, I received a call from Lieutenant Kelly Walsh of the Avon Police Department. She requested that I place all schools in a modified (“soft”) lockdown position until such time I heard back from her. This request was a precautionary measure in response to a reported incident in the Town of Bristol. The perpetrator of the Bristol incident was identified as traveling in Farmington at the time of Lt. Walsh’s request. A modified (“soft”) lockdown is when the entry and exit to all schools is limited and police patrol the exterior of each building at random. Given that this type of action is purely precautionary, all activities taking place within each school continues uninterrupted. The modified lockdown of all schools was lifted at approximately 1:30 p.m. If you have additional questions about the impact that this action had on our schools, please do not hesitate to contact the principal at your child’s school. Thank you for your continued support of your schools and enjoy a great week.

I remain very truly yours,
Gary S. Mala
Superintendent of Schools
Avon Public Schools
gmala@avon.k12.ct.us