A lockdown lasted for about 45 minutes this afternoon at Madison Heights Elementary School. It followed a call to the Amherst County Sheriff’s Office that two males were seen near the school, one possible possessing a handgun in a backpack. The lockdown was put into place as a precaution, and authorities say they found nothing to suggest there was any threat to the school.
From the Amherst County Sheriff’s Office: The office responded to the area of Learning Lane in Madison Heights around 1:00 p.m. today in regards to possible suspicious activity. The complainant stated that they had observed two male subjects, with one possibly possessing a handgun in a backpack. Deputies responded and as a precaution Madison Heights Elementary School was placed on lockdown while law enforcement searched the area. The lockdown has since been lifted due to no further belief of a potential threat to students or faculty. These types of calls are always taken seriously and approached with an abundance of caution. The decision to lockdown school facilities are done with the utmost safety of our children and school faculty in mind. We are sensitive to the reaction of parents when they are made aware of these lockdowns through word of mouth or social media. Our primary goal is always to address the potential of a threat, and secondarily get information out as quickly as possible to prevent panic on the part of concerned parents and love ones.