Baldwin lockout lifted

News of police activity in Baldwin resulted in a precautionary lockout of district schools this morning. The lockout was lifted after approximately one hour and although no one was allowed in or out of any school building while the procedure was in effect, students still attended classes as usual.

According to Public Information Officer Abdullah of the First Police Precinct there “was an active robbery investigation underway on Grand Avenue and the schools chose to take this step for security reasons.”

Although some initial reports indicated Baldwin Schools were in lockdown, spokeswoman Cristina Schmohl stressed that it was the less severe lockout procedure that was actually in effect. “The school buildings are currently in lockout, not lockdown,” Schmohl clarified when the lockout was announced just before noon today. “This means no one is being allowed in or out of any of the buildings until we hear from police.”

Unverified reports to both the district and to the Herald’s offices indicated the police activity that precipitated the lockout was the investigation of a robbery at a Radio Shack store in the north of Baldwin. The lockout procedure, which was lifted just before 1 p.m., was enacted to prevent suspicious persons from taking refuge in school buildings.

District parents were notified of the procedure via a phone message from the district-wide emergency alert system at 11:50 a.m. today. An email alert from the Black Board Connect system was also dispatched. This message read: "This is a message from the Baldwin School District to inform you that all the schools are in lock out due to police activity in north Baldwin. Lock out means that doors are locked and no one enters or exits but normal classroom activity is maintained. We will let you know when police lift the lock out. Thank you."