Alaska News

Man's 'questionable' behavior spurs brief school lockdown

Wonder Park Elementary School was briefly on lockdown Thursday morning because a neighbor was acting suspiciously, police said.

At 9:52 a.m. a neighbor of the East Anchorage elementary school called to complain that another neighbor was making threats over construction in the neighborhood, said Anchorage Police Department spokeswoman Anita Shell.

The man was seen loading guns and putting guns in his vehicle.

"His behavior was questionable," Shell said.

Because children were playing out at recess in close proximity, the school went in to lockdown for about 45 minutes, she said.

Police visited the man at his home. He was cooperative and voluntarily gave up his guns for safekeeping, Shell said. They will be returned to him.

"We don't have any indication (he is a threat)," she said.

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The school is no longer on lockdown and is celebrating an end-of-the-year barbecue as planned, according to a school receptionist.

Reach Michelle Theriault Boots at mtheriault@adn.com or 257-4344.

By MICHELLE THERIAULT BOOTS

Anchorage Daily News

Michelle Theriault Boots

Michelle Theriault Boots is a longtime reporter for the Anchorage Daily News. She focuses on in-depth stories about the intersection of public policy and Alaskans' lives. Before joining the ADN in 2012, she worked at daily newspapers up and down the West Coast and earned a master's degree from the University of Oregon.

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