Bend Police responded to reported threat at Bend Senior High School Thursday afternoon. Deschutes County 911 Dispatch received a call to the non-emergency dispatch line from a man reporting he was in the parking lot of Bend High with weapons, and said he was going to enter the school.
A Bend Police School Resource Officer was on scene at the school, and the school was immediately placed into secure status. Secure status is when all doors are locked and no one can enter or exit the school, but class continues as usual.
Additional Bend Police officers responded to the high school within three minutes. Over the course of approximately an hour, police conducted a thorough search of the entire campus both on foot and with the use of unmanned aerial systems, including outbuildings, classrooms and fields. No evidence of a threat or weapons has been located at this time, but an investigation is ongoing.
During the search, an unattended bag was located on the exterior grounds of the school. Out of an abundance of caution, Bend Police cordoned off the affected area at the request of the Oregon State Police Explosives Disposal Unit. The unit responded and at 4 p.m. determined the bag was not a threat. That area has now been reopened.
Officers also responded to other schools in the district to ensure there were no threats on those campuses. The public should expect a continued law enforcement presence at Bend High and other schools in the area on Friday.
More than two dozen law enforcement personnel responded to the scene, including members of the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office and Redmond Police Department. Bend Fire also responded to the scene.
An investigation into the threat and the origin of the call is ongoing.
