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A "lockdown" at a Cleburne middle school was eased Wednesday afternoon after police searched but found no validity to report of a gun on campus, according to reports.
Police were summoned just before 10 a.m. to Lowell Smith Middle School, 1710 Country Club Drive, after a report "from two sixth-graders that a student had brought a weapon on campus," said Lisa Magers, spokeswoman for Cleburne schools.A dog trained to detect gunpowder was used to search classrooms and lockers, but nothing was found, Magers said.The lockdown was lightened to "perimeter level" as students got ready to go home for the day. This measure "allows for monitored and controlled exit from classrooms," Magers said."We are only utilizing perimeter lockdown procedures so we can control and monitor exits in and out of classrooms and the building,” Superintendent Dr. Ronny Beard said. “We have a number of parents trying to check their children out and this is a good way to maintain control of the situation.”Standard procedures would be used for school dismissal Wednesday, Magers said."School buses will run at their regular times," she said. "The campus will return to its regular schedule on Thursday."Officers took extra time on the search because the initial report did not indicate a specific student with a gun, said Sgt. Amy Knoll, spokeswoman for Cleburne police. Gerard Elementary School, about a third of a mile north of the middle school, was placed on "perimeter" lockdown as a precaution in the morning, Magers said. But, she added, that was lifted Wednesday afternoon.All public schools in Cleburne were briefly placed on lockdown Wednesday morning, Magers said, but only Smith and Gerard remained on lockdown throughout the morning.During the lockdown, Beard met with more than 30 parents Wednesday morning outside the middle school, Magers said.He praised police officers for their handling of the situation."They have been very thorough in their search," he said.The middle school is located on the city's southwest side, about a mile east of Lake Pat Cleburne.
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