BREAKING: South Lakes and Hughes Briefly on Lockdown Thursday

by Karen Goff — November 7, 2013 at 12:30 pm 5,944 16 Comments

Update,, 2:30 p.m. — Fairfax County Police say the suspects have been apprehended. School officials say secure building has been lifting and students will follow normal dismissal procedures.

Update , 1 p.m. — SLHS sent this email to parents at 1 p.m.

At the request of the FCPS Office of Safety and Security, we are currently in “Secure the Building” status at our school. No one on school property is in any danger. This precautionary step has been taken because of police activity in the surrounding neighborhoods. “Secure the Building” requires us to cancel any outdoor activities, exterior doors remain locked and no one is allowed to enter or exit the building. Staff and students are free to move about inside the building. If you have any questions, please call the school office.

Original Story: Students at South Lakes High School and Langston Hughes Middle School were briefly on lockdown on Thursday after Fairfax County Police were searching nearby for a fugitive from a nearby traffic stop.

Police spokeswoman Lucy Caldwell said officers made a traffic stop about 12 p.m. on Whisperwood Glen Lane , which is directly next to the school properties. She said she did not know whether there were warrants out for the people in the car, whether they were armed or whether the community was in any danger.

But when the people in car fled, officers chased them by car and helicopter and the nearby schools were put on lockdown for about 10 minutes as a precaution, said Caldwell.

The schools are currently under secure building mode. Terraset Elementary School, located near the middle and high schools, is also in secure building mode.

Reston Now will update this story when more details become available.

accompanyc

Thanks Karen – so glad you are on top of this for everybody!
Mary Ellen Rubenstein

thank you Karen.
Bdingell

Thanks Karen. Someone needs to get this info to the students in the school. Rumors someone was shot and killed.
- David Blanco
  
  yup, thats what my sister and the ffunderground site is buzzing. Some said it was a stand off at the 7 11 near the school others say a bank robber and someone was shot. Lots of rumors so quickly lol
- Stuart Gibson
  
  I am in the building. The students and staff have been kept safe and informed as the day unfolded. Although we did not know the details of the traffic stop, that point had nothing to do with student safety.
- Karen Goff
  
  No one was shot or killed. Those are rumors.
Judy

Karen you rock, my kids were texting me looking for information. You are the first to break the story.
Todd

I wish it was Friday already. “Students at South Lakes High School and Langston Hughes Middle School were briefly on lockdown on Friday”
- Karen Goff
  
  Sorry, was typing too fast. Thursday, of course. It has been corrected in the story.
Kate Peterson

Great job as always Karen.
Alison

Today is Thursday, right? Did anyone get an emergency announcement from the school or county? Seems we should have heard about it.
- Stuart Gibson
  
  The school sent out a Keep in Touch message to the community at 1:00 pm.
  - Alison
    
    Thank you. I just now made sure I was signed up.
Stuart Gibson

The principal just announced we are in normal operations. Students will be released on time, and buses will operate as scheduled.
Margaret P

It was also the case for Terraset ES. My kindergartner says the announcement was to lock the doors and cover the windows. He wasn’t scared. We could hear the helicopter circling (glade pool area).
LaurieTD

Perhaps the “BREAKING” news header could be removed, now that this is stale. Makes it hard for readers to know what is really breaking news.

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