All Lakeville Area schools and facilities will be closed on Friday until further notice “due to an active threat” under investigation by the Lakeville Police Department, the school district announced in an emergency alert.
In response to a Pioneer Press inquiry on Friday morning, a Lakeville Police Department spokesperson said in an email: “This is an active investigation and we have no comment at this time.”
As people on social media began asking questions about the threat and if it extended beyond the schools, the police department issued this statement on its social media channels about Independent School District 194 (ISD 194): “In cooperation with ISD194 and other law enforcement partners, LPD is aggressively investigating a communicated threat to Lakeville area schools, K-12. The threat is isolated to Lakeville schools and is not community-wide. As the investigation continues, we’ll provide updates.”
In its emergency alert, the Lakeville school district said that all K-12 students should participate in distance learning from home and follow their previous distance learning schedule. All staff should work remotely, the district said in its alert.
“With the limited information we have at this time and to support the investigation, please do not report to our school buildings or district facilities until further notice,” the district said in a statement. “Students currently on site, including for Kid Zone or Wonder Zone programming, should be picked up immediately. All early childhood programs are canceled until further notice.”
Children who were at Wonder Zone and Kid Zone, childcare programs for preschoolers and elementary students, were moved to Hosanna Church, where parents picked them up, according to a school district’s tweet.
The Lakeville Area Schools office will also be closed to the public until further notice.
Lakeville Area Schools serves approximately 11,000 students in Dakota and Scott counties, with eight elementary schools, three middle schools, two high schools, LinK12-Lakeville (an online school), plus an Area Learning Center, and two Community Education facilities, which serve early childhood through adult education.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
