Kirkwood High School in Missouri on Thursday went on lockdown after school staff was alarmed by the presence of a local reporter who did not identify himself as a member of the media, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
A reporter for local network KDSK, who inquired about school security for a story, left his name and number for the secretary while she left to find another staff member. He then left the main office and did not answer his phone when the secretary followed up.
This initiated a 40-minute lockdown about an hour after the reporter first arrived a the school, according to the Post-Dispatch.
KDSK said that the reporter did not intend to prompt a lockdown, and that the news channel sent a reporter to five schools Thursday to talk to school security officials for an investigative story.
“This lock down certainly was not the intent of our visit,” the news station said in a statement.
Image via Kirkwood High School website