Gun spotted near LHS leads to 'soft' lock down

Published Date Written by Adam Drapcho

LACONIA — Two city schools went into "soft" lock-down for about an hour yesterday after an administrator spotted two men walking toward the high school, one of which appeared to be carrying a rifle. Students were eventually released after a police search of the vicinity couldn't find the individuals.
Laconia police Captain Matt Canfield said the department was called at 1:18 p.m. on Tuesday by an LHS administrator who reported seeing the two males walking on Dewey Street, a short street that leads from Gilford Avenue to the side of the high school. The school went into was is called a "soft" lock-down mode — students are kept in their classrooms, hallways are cleared, doors are locked, teaching continues — while police searched the area for the individuals.
Woodland Heights School was also locked down, due to its relative vicinity to the high school.
The lock-down lasted until about 2:20 p.m., 15 minutes later than the usual dismissal time for the high school.
Canfield said that the search, which included assistance from a State Police K-9 unit and examination of surveillance video from a nearby convenience store, was unsuccessful in finding the two males in question.
Although Canfield said it is not necessarily illegal to carry an exposed firearm in the city, the fact that they were spotted walking toward the school caused "serious concern."
Both of the subjects were described by the administrator as white males. One was wearing a black T-shirt and the other a white sweatshirt with red lettering. Police continue to investigate the incident and ask anyone with information to call the department at 524-5252 or the Laconia Crimeline at 527-1717.