Madison East High School, 2222 E. Washington, was put on lockdown Monday morning after reports of a student gun threat.
According to Madison School District spokesperson Ken Syke, an absent East High student made the threat to another student who was in school Monday. The building remained in lockdown from 11 a.m. until the end of the school day at 3:30 p.m.
Madison East is less than four miles from the UW-Madison campus.
Madison Police spokesperson Carlos Valentin would not discuss the exact details of the threat.
""It wasn't what was said, but it was the fact that the threat was credible,"" Valentin said.
Both Syke and Valentin said the threat stemmed from an unresolved fight between two East High students over the weekend. According to Valentin, the police conducted interviews with several East High students as well as people who had called in with information regarding the threat before putting the school on lockdown.
""We didn't know when or how this might happen, so for the safety of the whole school, we locked the school down,"" Syke said. ""We worked with the police and the school administration to put our safety and security procedures into place.""
East High staff kept students in their third-period classrooms throughout the day, only allowing them to leave for the bathroom or lunchroom when accompanied by an escort. The high school also set up a center for concerned parents outside the school with counselors and support staff in place.
East High students Sarah Czechowicz and Louis Cooper were at school during the lockdown and said actions taken by the staff were ""unreasonable.""
Students who left the building before 11 a.m. were not allowed back inside, though many waited outside until 3:30 p.m. for their classmates to be released. One student, who asked to remain anonymous, said he thought the incident was ""gang related.""
According to Principal Alan Harris, parents picked up 12 students and took them home early during the lockdown. One parent, who asked to remain anonymous, picked his child up because of the threat of somebody ""cappin'"" kids on the way out.
Syke said police arrested a 15-year-old suspect in connection with the threat. East High staff refused to discuss disciplinary measures they plan to take against the student who allegedly issued the threat.
Harris said he was proud of his students during the lockdown.
""We were able to dismiss students and every one of them went home [safely],"" Harris said.
Madison West High School almost went into lockdown as well Monday after a pellet gun shooting on school grounds.
According to Valentin, a car full of men opened fire on West High students at 12:15 p.m. near the school's Regent Street entrance.
Police later arrested Madison residents Francisco Xelhua-Montes and Henry Garcia, both 20, in connection with the shooting.
