False alarm
Officers reacting to armed intruder call at school find it was only a drill
An emergency practice drill by staff members turned into a false alarm for police officers Thursday at Harrison Elementary School in Brainerd.
The drill was for an armed intruder. The false alarm was an accident caused by a concerned parent who happened to be in the school at the time of the drill, Steve Lundberg, Harrison principal, said today.
Harrison staffers were reviewing and practicing emergency procedures when a parent overheard them and called the police.
"She heard us practicing (emergency drills) but did not realize we were practicing and left thinking we were in danger," Lundberg said. "She thought she was doing a good deed. She was worried about us and our safety,"
The Brainerd Police Department didn't realize Harrison School staff members were practicing either. Several units arrived at the school prepared for an armed intruder, but found only the staff members.
"I hate to inconvenience those guys like that," Lundberg said. "I felt bad about that. They walked in and, what do you say? No one from our staff called them."
Lundberg said the school practices emergency drill procedures every year for all situations -- from tornadoes to armed intruders -- but said nothing like this false alarm has ever happened.