Police Respond To Odessa Elementary School After 911 Call
By: Jenne Anderson
Updated: January 28, 2013
ODESSA -- Cynthia Luevano is the mother of a 2nd grader at Alamo Elementary in Odessa.
She lives right across the street from the school and tells us there was definitely a sense of caution as she dropped her son off Monday morning.
"We usually just cross the street but it was pretty packed," explained Luevano.
Luevano isn't the only one who noticed the change.
"It was more secure," said one concerned parent. "They were on top of who was going in and who was coming out."
Ector County I.S.D. Police Chief Mark Rowden says the school went into shelter-in-place after officers received a 911 phone call saying there were several people outside the school with guns.
"We conducted a search of the school," said Chief Rowden. "This was just after 7 o'clock this (Monday) morning. All we were able to tell right now is that it was false."
Chief Rowden tells Big 2 all of Monday's security measures were put in place and reviewed several months ago, well before the recent school shooting in Newtown, CT.
This enables the district to be prepared for any emergency situation.
"As events occur not only here in the U.S., but worldwide we keep on top of that," stated Chief Rowden. "We revise our procedures; we review our procedures on a regular basis."
This is good news for parents, who say they could see the months of emergency preparation put to use as officers patrolled the school.
"There was police in the corners and around the property," stated a concerned parent. "So I think they had everybody where they needed to be to make sure nothing happened."
"I think they have it under control," said Luevano. "I mean, you can't be too strict either because then you scare the kids."
As standard procedure ECISD tells us they had several officers patrolling the building even after the call was discredited.
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She lives right across the street from the school and tells us there was definitely a sense of caution as she dropped her son off Monday morning.
"We usually just cross the street but it was pretty packed," explained Luevano.
Luevano isn't the only one who noticed the change.
"It was more secure," said one concerned parent. "They were on top of who was going in and who was coming out."
Ector County I.S.D. Police Chief Mark Rowden says the school went into shelter-in-place after officers received a 911 phone call saying there were several people outside the school with guns.
"We conducted a search of the school," said Chief Rowden. "This was just after 7 o'clock this (Monday) morning. All we were able to tell right now is that it was false."
Chief Rowden tells Big 2 all of Monday's security measures were put in place and reviewed several months ago, well before the recent school shooting in Newtown, CT.
This enables the district to be prepared for any emergency situation.
"As events occur not only here in the U.S., but worldwide we keep on top of that," stated Chief Rowden. "We revise our procedures; we review our procedures on a regular basis."
This is good news for parents, who say they could see the months of emergency preparation put to use as officers patrolled the school.
"There was police in the corners and around the property," stated a concerned parent. "So I think they had everybody where they needed to be to make sure nothing happened."
"I think they have it under control," said Luevano. "I mean, you can't be too strict either because then you scare the kids."
As standard procedure ECISD tells us they had several officers patrolling the building even after the call was discredited.
Like Jenne Anderson's page on Facebook!
