School briefly locked down amid search for wanted man
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AUBURN, Wash. -- Police locked down Thomas Jefferson High School on Friday morning after getting reports that a man involved in a tense standoff overnight was spotted near the campus.
Buses were initially kept away from the school, but students who walked to class were let into the building, according to the Federal Way School District.
Officials said police received a report that a person matching a description of the wanted man was spotted about 7 a.m. near the school.
Police officers from several agencies converged on the campus and spent an hour searching the area around the school, but the man has still not been found.
Students were let back into Thomas Jefferson High School just before 8 a.m., but the school remained in a modified lockdown to prevent anyone who is not a student or staff member from entering the campus, officials said.
"We don't have any reason to believe that the suspect has actually entered the school or has in any way advanced onto the school property," said Kent Police Department Assistant Chief Pat Lowery.
The 27-year-old man being sought by police has several outstanding felony arrest warrants and has a violent criminal record.
Officers had surrounded a home late Thursday near the intersection of South 288th Street and 51st Ave in Auburn in an attempt to arrest the man, but were unsuccessful.
A SWAT team fired tear gas into the house over the course of several hours, but when officers finally went inside just after 5 a.m., no one was inside.
Buses were initially kept away from the school, but students who walked to class were let into the building, according to the Federal Way School District.
Officials said police received a report that a person matching a description of the wanted man was spotted about 7 a.m. near the school.
Police officers from several agencies converged on the campus and spent an hour searching the area around the school, but the man has still not been found.
Students were let back into Thomas Jefferson High School just before 8 a.m., but the school remained in a modified lockdown to prevent anyone who is not a student or staff member from entering the campus, officials said.
"We don't have any reason to believe that the suspect has actually entered the school or has in any way advanced onto the school property," said Kent Police Department Assistant Chief Pat Lowery.
The 27-year-old man being sought by police has several outstanding felony arrest warrants and has a violent criminal record.
Officers had surrounded a home late Thursday near the intersection of South 288th Street and 51st Ave in Auburn in an attempt to arrest the man, but were unsuccessful.
A SWAT team fired tear gas into the house over the course of several hours, but when officers finally went inside just after 5 a.m., no one was inside.
