School intruder sighting is a false alarm - CBS4 - WHBF Quad Cities, IL-IA News Weather Sports

School intruder sighting is a false alarm

By: Jillian Wilson

jwilson@cbs4qc.com

A suspicious man near Davenport's Buchanan Elementary, put the school on lock down this afternoon.

But police say it was a false alarm.

Students were on lock down after a student told teachers he saw a man with a gun during recess.

Police searched, but didn't find anyone, and everything went back to normal.

Some Buchanan parents were outraged to hear the news.

The lockdown lasted 30 minutes and after school pick up  carried on as usual.

"I called to find out why there were multiple police vehicles here and I was told, we have the situation under control, the kids are safe, there's nothing to be worried about, but I wasn't told anything further," said Rachelle Elmore, a Buchanan parent.

Rachelle Elmore wasn't the only one upset this afternoon. Parents received a pre–recorded voice mail saying a situation happened at school today.

Many parents had no idea that there was anything unusual going on at the school.

"As parents we should be notified right away instead of an hour to two hours afterwards," said Corlinda Kays, a Buchanan parent.

Some mothers say the lockdown had a big impact on their kids.

"She said she was scared. She says she was outside as it happened. she was scared and i would have been to," said Kays.

School officials say police and staff did what they could to handle the situation.

"I think our school acted appropriately. The first charge they always have is to ensure that our students are safe and to ensure that the Police or whomever needs to be notified and is notified promptly," said Dawn Sauls, the Communications and Media Relations director for Davenport Community School District.

Police say the man the kids saw was a neighbor walking around the area.