Evergreen High School, Cascade Middle School and Burton Elementary School were placed under lockdown Thursday afternoon following reports of shots fired near McKenzie Stadium.
Law enforcement responded at 1:08 p.m. to the campus on 18th Street in east Vancouver.
Vancouver police had a boy in custody in connection with the incident by about 1:30 p.m. There were no known injuries, according to Vancouver police spokeswoman Kim Kapp.
Investigators recovered several spent shell casings and a 9 mm semiautomatic firearm, Vancouver police said in a news release.
Officers booked a 16-year-old boy into the Clark County Juvenile Detention Center on suspicion of two counts of first-degree assault, unlawful possession of a firearm and discharging a firearm. Vancouver police said additional charges are pending.
Investigators said they do not believe the suspect was a student at Evergreen High School.
Roads were closed in the area while police and K-9 units investigated.
Students were bused to the Evergreen Public Schools district office, 3413 N.E. LeRoy Haagen Memorial Drive, north of the Firstenburg Community Center, where parents were originally directed.
Evergreen Public Schools said it is cooperating with law enforcement and asked for patience during dismissal.
“Please know we take these situations very seriously, and the safety of our students is always a top priority,” the district said.
Clark Regional Emergency Services Agency dispatch center sent out a shelter-in-place alert to about 4,000 people who live within a 1-mile radius of the schools’ campus. The agency told people not to call 911 unless there was an actual emergency. Officials lifted the shelter in place around 2:40 p.m.
