Lock down at Tahoe schools

More than 50 Nevada, California and federal officers converged on Zephyr Cove Elementary and Whittell High School on Thursday after an aide reported seeing a man carrying what looked like a rifle outside the school.

Sheriff Ron Pierini said officers continued to search the area throughout the afternoon, but no suspicious person had been spotted.

"We sent a team into the schools to make sure all the kids were safe," he said.

Officers responded from the Douglas County Sheriff's Office, Nevada Highway Patrol, South Lake Tahoe Police Department and the FBI, Pierini said.

Searchers from the Special Weapons and Tactics team and canine units also responded.

Pierini said the schools and Douglas County library branch on Warrior Way were locked down, and other buildings were searched.

"Teams searched buildings and the outside perimeter for several hundred yards," Pierini said. "We looked through the entire wooded areas and feel completely confident the schools were safe."

Pierini said a Zephyr Cove aide called 911 at 11:30 a.m., and officers were on scene within minutes.

"We drenched the area," Pierini said. "If there was an active gunman in there, we didn't want to wait for the SWAT team."

All school buses and staff and student vehicles were searched before students were dismissed at the regular time.

Parents were directed to Zephyr Cove Park to wait for an all-clear before they could pick up their children.

"The schools received tons of calls from parents, so we set up a separate station away from the entrance areas. We assigned officers to communicate with the parents and it worked out really, really well."

He said bus drivers were advised what to tell students about the incident.

"The school teachers, staff and administration did an excellent job," Pierini said. "They gave them projects to do, and some of the smaller children were fed."

He said officers train annually for "active gunman" on-campus scenarios.

"I am very pleased with how this went. The state, federal and local entities worked very well together. It was a textbook response and I would give it an A-plus."

Pierini said he would encourage anyone to call whenever they see something suspicious.

"This is the key," he said. "In our training and research, when there have been problems if somebody identified a suspicious person, they failed to call or report the information. I can't emphasize it enough. If you see something, call the authorities immediately. If there's nothing, that's OK. Calling is absolutely right, and the only thing to do."

Whittell has 228 students in grades nine through 12. Zephyr Cove has 268 students in kindergarten through fifth grade, according to the district's Web site.