Police: Man makes suicidal threats, causes schools to lockdown

Two schools in the Vancouver Heights area were placed on a modified lockdown Wednesday morning after a man reportedly made suicidal threats to a student who was on the way to school, Vancouver Police Department Spokeswoman Kim Kapp said.

Officers were called to McLoughlin Middle School, 5802 MacArthur Blvd., about 9:30 a.m. after a student who was walking to school was approached by an older white man wearing a black beanie, Kapp said.

“He put a knife to his throat and said to stop walking or ‘I’m going to slit my throat,’ ” Kapp said. The student continued to school and the incident was reported to police about 30 minutes after the fact.

McLoughlin Middle School and Marshall Elementary School went into modified lockdown at 9:27 a.m. Wednesday, said Pat Nuzzo spokeswoman for Vancouver Public Schools. The lockdown was lifted at 10:02 a.m.

During a modified lockdown, exterior doors are locked and no one leaves or enters the school, but students and staff move freely within the building and classes continue as normal. About 900 students attend the middle school and about 400 attend the elementary school.

Officers searched but did not locate a man matching the description the student provided, Kapp said.