Yuma schools canceled following arrest
SAN LUIS, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) - Classes for Southwest Junior High School have been canceled Thursday and Friday due to an arrest and unfounded rumors that happened on Wednesday afternoon.
Southwest Jr. High School and San Luis High went on lockdown after police say they detained a "suspicious" man close to the high school.
"We actually had two separate incidents going on at the same time we don't want the people to get confused," said San Luis Police Department PIO Lt. Emmanuel Botello.
Southwest issued extra security after San Luis police say they received calls of shots fired at the school, but they did not find any evidence of this.
"During the process, we had some contradictions, some people reported hearing the shots fired but other people denied ever hearing any type of shots fired, as a precautionary thing they were still in a lockdown given the incident that was going on at the San Luis High School," said Lt. Botello.
Elizabeth Garcia, a local parent at the school, was able to share what went through her head as she was receiving the news.
"I was very worried we supposedly send our kids safely to school and you wouldn't expect that in such a small town these things happen," said Garcia.
The "suspicious" man was released later that night.
"This was already deemed to be an unrelated incident. It's not related to the threats that everybody has been hearing about over the last week...This is just an unrelated incident where we detained a male subject," said Lt. Botello.
Meanwhile, there were no reported injuries and all students were transported safely off campus.
All schools with the Gadsden Elementary School District canceled classes for the rest of this week.
Lizette Esparza, the Gadsen Elementary Superintendent shares what they do to best ensure their student’s safety.
"The protocols we followed are always: We always work with the San Luis Police Department and together and you know together collaborating we determined was the safest route to take for our students," said Esparza.
The Somerton School District has also canceled classes for the rest of this week.
