This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Rose Park Elementary was temporarily under a "soft lockdown" Tuesday afternoon after a report of a possibly armed man in the neighborhood.
A neighbor of the school, at 1000 N. 1105 West, walked in and alerted the staff about seeing a man, possibly with a gun nearby, said Salt Lake School District spokesman Jason Olsen. The school went into "soft lockdown" — meaning classes went on but no one was allowed to leave the locked school building — and the school called police.
Salt Lake City police did not find anyone matching the man's description in the surrounding area, said Det. Mike Hamideh.
The school lifted the lockdown after about an hour, Olsen said.
The school has practiced lockdown drills all year and the students responded to the real lockdown on Tuesday "calmly and attentively," said a statement from principal Nicole Warren.
"We feel fortunate that the situation was resolved quickly. Rest assured, students were never in danger and if any threat had been verified by the police we would have begun contacting parents immediately," Warren added.
Meanwhile, Unified police continued Tuesday to search for a pistol-toting man whose behavior triggered a lockdown of a Millcreek elementary school all day Monday. Unified Police Lt. Justin Hoyal said the suspect — described as a 6-foot, 170-pound Latino in his 20s with short dark hair and wearing a tan coat and blue jeans — had not yet been located.
About 9 a.m. Monday, a teaching assistant spotted the suspect walking around cars in the parking lot of Roosevelt Elementary School, 3225 S. 800 East, carrying a semi-automatic handgun. At one point, the suspect was seen pulling the gun's slide back and racking a round into the weapon's chamber.
Granite School District officials placed the school on lockdown until the end of the school day as a precaution, and officers were stationed at the school for the day.
Anyone with information on this incident is asked to call UPD at 801-743-7000.
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