Last week, Galena High School in South Reno was ordered into a code red lockdown after a concerned parent called law enforcement to report a perceived threat. The lockdown was quickly lifted but caused a lot of concern. KUNR’s Stephanie Serrano sat down with Irene Payne, a district spokesperson, to break down what a code red means, along with discussing student and parent procedures.
According to the Washoe County School District, a parent called regional dispatch on Friday morning after receiving a fearful text message from a student who was riding the bus to school.
When the bus arrived on campus, the Reno Police Department and the Washoe County Sheriff's Office were on scene. The school was put on code red and an investigation took place, ultimately finding no threat.
“Pretty much the code red was called, and we reverted back to a code green within a relatively short period of time, when the students were interviewed and there was found to be no threat and no threat intended,” Payne said.
Payne said the district practices a variety of emergency procedures to prepare students and staff internally.
“We do fire drills, earthquakes, we run through evacuations, we run through code red. What I will say is that our students in our school district know what to do,” Payne said. “Our students are pretty amazing in that they know what to do in a situation today like what happened at Galena.”
Payne encourages concerned parents to get fact-based information through verified school district social media platforms or directly from the district's homepage, where a live feed is updated with information.
