MARIANAS High School on Friday initiated “shelter-in-place” procedures and conducted a classroom-by-classroom search in response to a social post Thursday stating that a student would bring a gun to school.
“No weapon was found. No invasive body searches were conducted. The Department of Public Safety was present throughout the sweep,” MHS Principal Jonathan Aguon said in an email Friday afternoon.
“The sweep ended with the all-clear given at 12:10 p.m.,” he added.
According to the principal, MHS took the claim of a weapon being brought to the campus very seriously and acted swiftly.
He said MHS conducted an investigation and concluded that there was no immediate threat. It was a baseless rumor that was being spread, Aguon added.
“Nevertheless, we consulted with the Department of Public Safety and our [Public School System] leadership to ensure that we make the safest decisions,” he said.
In the interest of safety, it was decided that a sweep of the entire campus would be conducted to ensure that there was no weapon on campus, he added.
“At 10:10 a.m., we signaled for all classrooms to shelter-in-place. It was not a lockdown due to a threat. Instead, the shelter-in-place was to ensure that the sweep can be conducted properly without the interruption of the bell schedule. We informed our teachers before the sweep began,” Aguon said.
He thanked all students for their compliance with Friday’s sweep.
“As the largest school in PSS, it took some time, but we ensured that it was thorough for your safety. We would also like to thank DPS for their partnership and we thank our school emergency team for their diligence in the sweep,” Aguon said.
DPS spokesman Dre Pangelinan said no arrest had been made.
In March 2020, after a similar email threat and as part of PSS protocols, MHS and all public schools on Saipan were locked down.
DPS conducted a “rigorous search” at MHS but no weapon was found and no suspect was arrested.
In January 2020, Kagman High School received a “shooting threat” from a student email account.
DPS conducted a search on campus but did not find any weapons.
“Someone needs to be held accountable for these threats,” said a parent who declined to be identified.
A police car is seen near the entrance to Marianas High School on Friday morning.
