HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Plum Creek Elementary was briefly on lockdown Wednesday afternoon while the Reno County Sheriff's Office investigated a report of an armed person in the area.
According to a social media report from the Sheriff's Office, a caller stated a male was in possession of a rifle and was walking in a wooded area on property between 43rd and 56th on Plum.
Deputies detained the person and the lockdown was lifted.
According to USD 313, the lockdown was from 2:55 to 3:10 p.m. Wednesday. Students were dismissed on time at 3:15 p.m.
The social media report was unclear as to whether the person was legally carrying the weapon or not, as detention does not imply whether or not the action was legal.
In Kansas, guns, including rifles, can be carried legally, as long as no other crime is being committed and the person carrying has not committed a previous offense whose punishment includes the prohibition from carrying firearms.
Sheriff Darrian Campbell later issued some clarifying comments that indicated that the detention was because of an emotional situation and that the firearm was discharged in order to instill fear as part of the initial situation, which caused the deputies responding to take more abrupt action than they otherwise might have.
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