Reports of gunfire lock down college in Washington state - but police find nothing
By mid-morning, an official said they had found no signs of a shooting or anyone wounded at Highline College in Des Moines, Washington state
Police armed with heavy weaponry swarmed a community college in Des Moines, Washington state, on Friday morning after gunfire was reported on campus.
Students were told to shelter in place as police searched Highline College, some 15 miles (24 kilometres) south of Seattle, for a gunman - but the officers found nothing.
About an hour after the initial report, the South King Fire agency tweeted it knew of “no known” victims, and police later confirmed that no shots had been fired nor people injured.
SWAT team officers carrying guns were seen on video walking around one of the school’s parking lots as students sheltered in place
Kent Assistant Police Chief Rafael Padilla said authorities covered the entire Highline College campus, which has 17,000 students, and did not find anything.
School officials ended the lockdown just before noon after being told by law enforcement that the situation was “all clear.” Classes for the remainder of the day were cancelled.