Updated: 9 p.m.
The Flathead Valley Community College was briefly locked down on Friday afternoon following a report of a suspicious person with a gun near campus.
President Jane Karas said the college sent a text message to students and staff at about 4:30 p.m. informing them of the report and recommending they secure the area around them and find shelter. Law enforcement responded to the campus and investigated the report. After determining there was not a threat, school officials lifted the lockdown 10 minutes later.
“There is no longer a threat on the campus,” Karas said. “We appreciate law enforcement’s quick response.”
According to the Kalispell Police Department, dispatch received a report of a man with a gun entering the Learning Resource Center on campus. Police officers, along with Flathead County Sheriff’s personnel, responded to the college. Upon arrival, it was determined that the suspect had already left the scene in a maroon pickup northbound from the college. As a precaution, the school was placed on lockdown. Police officers cleared the Learning Resource Center and a more in-depth interview was conducted with the reporting party. The reporting party revealed that two males were involved in a road rage incident on U.S. 93. The suspect pulled into the college parking lot where he made contact with another male. At that time, a holstered pistol was brandished at the reporting party in the college parking lot. The individual with the gun was observed leaving the campus without entering any buildings, according to police.