Slinger schools in Washington County go on lockdown after a report of a student with a gun; suspect in custody

Elliot Hughes Rory Linnane
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

SLINGER -- Law enforcement in Slinger reported an arrest and no injuries after receiving a call of a student at Slinger Middle School with a gun Friday.

The Washington County Sheriff's Department said no gun has been recovered as of early Friday afternoon. 

The Sheriff's Department reported the school went on lockdown shortly before 12:30 p.m. Friday and it will remain that way until a search of the school is finished. 

The department said parents should gather at a staging area at Kettle Moraine Bowl, about a mile south of the school, 521 Olympic Drive.

A screenshot of a districtwide email to parents that was posted to social media said, "A student at the middle school, in the hallway, yelled that they had a gun. We are processing through that right now. At this point, it is still an active investigation but we believe this may have been a case of a foolish statement coming from a possibly joking manner."

The email said Slinger High School, Slinger Middle School and Slinger Elementary are all on lockdown.

Parents gather Friday at Kettle Moraine Bowl to await updates about their children after law enforcement officers responded to a call at Slinger Middle School of a student having a gun. The suspect was taken into custody but no gun was recovered.

Jay Keickhafer, who has three children in middle school, said he found out when his wife got a text from the school.

“I was nervous, just not knowing,” he said. “Just hoped for the best. That’s all you can really do in this situation.”

He got an email at 1:16 p.m. from the school district indicating a student in a crowded hallway had stated, “I have a gun.” That student was in custody and the situation was stabilized, the email said.

At 1:46, another email said the threat was found not to be credible.

Keickhafer said he thought officials handled it well.

“Everything happened the way it should have happened,” he said.

Parents gather in the parking lot of Kettle Moraine Bowl. Law enforcement in Slinger reported an arrest and no injuries after receiving a call of a student at Slinger Middle School with a gun Friday. The Washington County Sheriff's Department said parents should gather at a staging area there. Police did not recover a gun.

Some parents were still waiting at 3 p.m. to pick up their children. A long line of cars and trucks had built up outside the school. Some parked outside the police perimeter and waited for students to walk out.

Jason Ford, a parent and youth baseball coach, stood just outside the perimeter, looking for his son. Ford was a friendly face for students on his team to see as they walked to find their families.

Some stopped for hugs.

Ford found out about the incident from a friend who saw police cars swarming the school. He drove over immediately.

“You’ve got Uvalde and then this? In one word, it was unthinkable,” Ford said. “This is as close to home as it can possibly get.”

Ford had just had conversations with his son about Uvalde.

“We’ve had to have too many of those conversations over the last few years,” he said. “And the active shooter drills, and the things our kids have to go through, it’s just a shame and it makes me very sad.”

Contact Elliot Hughes at elliot.hughes@jrn.com or 414-704-8958. Follow him on Twitter @elliothughes12.