Terror, Then Relief After Highline College Shooting False Alarm

DES MOINES, WA - Two days after a horrific shooting at a school in Parkland, Fla., the Highline College campus was placed on lockdown Friday morning after a report of shots fired. Police searched the campus classroom-by-classroom, but found no evidence of a shooting.

Parents and students began leaving the campus after the lockdown was lifted around 11 a.m. and some met in the parking lot of a Lowe's across the street from the college. They hugged each other and some cried, shocked by what happened but relieved that it was a false alarm.

"Terror, that was the first thing," parent Brenda Ely said. Her daughter is blind, and was huddled in a class confused about what was going on.

"I wanted to throw up 45 minutes ago," parent April Robb said. She was standing on the corner of Pacific Highway South waiting for her 16-year-old son to be released from the college. Robb was pleased with the massive police response to the incident.

"I'm incredibly grateful," she said.

Des Moines police will handle the investigation into what happened Friday. Police will look to interview the people who called 911 and any surveillance video to determine what happened. A rumor spread among students that the gunshot sounds people heard were just firecrackers. As of about noon, police had not found evidence that fireworks had been set on campus.

There were about 5,000 students and staff at the college when the lockdown alert came around 9 a.m. Multiple people called 911 to report sounds of gunfire near the school's library, according to Des Moines police.

Yuki Ito, a first-year Highline student, was waiting outside a classroom for a professor when the lockdown hit. She stayed in a classroom until two police officers came to let her out.

"It was scary," she said.

The incident drew a massive response from police and fire agencies from around the region. Kent, Des Moines, Renton, and Federal Way police were on scene, plus Port of Seattle police and FBI agents. South King Fire and Rescue and the Puget Sound Regional Fire Authority managed the medical response. Two people were reportedly treated for anxiety-related distress.

Washington State Patrol shut down southbound Pacific Highway South between 240th and Kent-Des Moines Road. The incident caused long traffic delays along I-5 and on local roadways.

Interim President Dr. Jeff Wagnitz said the campus has run drills for an active-shooter scenario. Students were alerted of the lockdown via text, social media, and a loudspeaker system. Wagnitz also said that some classrooms lack locking doors, which he attributed to the age of the buildings.

Highline is the state's largest community college with over 10,000 full-credit students enrolled. The college is located about 17 miles southwest of Seattle.

Caption: Students Peighton Perrien (center) and Kamani Kremers (right) embrace their basketball coach, Dani Carlman (left). Damien Crump, another Highline basketball coach, and staff members Shannon Waits look on.

Photos by Neal McNamara/Patch