Lakeland schools locked down Monday

Spirit Lake Elementary, Timberlake Middle and Timberlake High schools were placed in a safety hold early Monday morning as Spirit Lake Police searched for an armed teenager.

"There was no direct threat toward any of the schools," Spirit Lake Police Department public information officer Caitlyn Trim said Monday afternoon. "There was a family dispute that was more of a mental health and suicide threat from a minor who resides near the school."

An alert went to families just after 8 a.m. informing them of the situation.

"All exterior doors are locked and no one will enter or leave until the hold is lifted," Lakeland Joint School District Superintendent Lisa Arnold said in the alert, adding that families would be notified when the situation was resolved.

"Everyone who is already at school is completely safe and law enforcement is on site," she said in the alert.

Trim said the search took place when the minor left their residence and could not be located for a short time. The minor returned home and was taken into police custody without incident. The safety hold was then lifted.

Trim said no threats were made to the schools. They were locked down because of the physical proximity to the minor's residence.

"They locked the schools down out of caution," she said.

Trim said because of the safety protocols Lakeland has with Spirit Lake Police, everything went according to plan.

"Everything worked the way it was supposed to," she said.