Search prompts LPO lockdown

SANDPOINT - A robbery near Lake Pend Oreille Alternative High School Monday forced the school into lockdown for nearly an hour as police searched the area for a suspect.

The Sandpoint Police Department was responding to a residential robbery near Boyer and Chestnut around 1 p.m., according to police chief Mark Lockwood.

"We got a call about a robbery in progress over there. We dispatched officers and it unwrapped real fast and they went forward doing their search," Lockwood said.

As police canvassed the area for the suspect, an LPO teacher saw an officer with his gun drawn and alerted principal Rick Dalessio, who immediately put the school into lockdown.

The lockdown program includes bringing students into classrooms, locking all doors and windows and drawing curtains on all windows, said Lake Pend Oreille School District Superintendent Dick Cvitanich.

Even in the hectic situation, the lockdown went off without a hitch, said Dalessio.

"It went quite well," Dalessio said. "We've had some good training and several practices."

Nearly an hour after the lockdown began, Dalessio received a call from Bonner County dispatch informing him that the area was safe, although the robbery suspect was not apprehended.

Lockwood said an investigation into the incident would be ongoing.