Lockdown at Mountain Christian Church and School In Joppa Resolved

From the Harford County Sheriff’s Office:

(Joppa, MD – February 2, 2010) On February 2, 2010 at approximately 12:45pm, Harford County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to a call from Mountain Christian Church and School officials for a report of an armed stranger inside the building.

Information received from the caller indicated two younger students reported to their teacher seeing a lady in the building that they did not recognize, who possibly had a gun. Upon notification from the students, the school immediately implemented its emergency action plan triggering an automatic law enforcement response.

Within minutes of the call, Harford County Sheriff’s Office deputies were on scene and assisted school officials in implementing the plan. The situation was mitigated by 1:45pm, after a search of the school and ground located no intruder.

Harford County Sheriff’s Office investigation into the matter determined that the children did observe a woman in the building, later identified as a local resident, who was attending a church program on the campus. An interview with the woman conducted by Harford County Sheriff’s Office deputies established that there were no weapons involved and she had permission to be in the building at the time of the sighting. The incident is considered officially closed.