Police respond after ‘accidental lockdown’ at Irondequoit High, Dake Junior High

IRONDEQUOIT, N.Y. A false alarm at two West Irondequoit schools briefly sent teachers and students into lockdown this afternoon.

It was all a big mistake but caused plenty of panic. This a good question many frightened parents want to be answered but a situation chief Scott Peters says his officers are trained, prepared, and ready to respond to, day or night. It was a false alarm, just at times when parents and students are on pins and needles when it comes to school safety.

“As far as the way our officers responded, good,” Peters said. “What we did afterward is … a thorough after-action report.”

Responding within minutes to the scene at both Dake Junior High and Irondequoit High School, Chief Peters says his officers didn’t waste any time as school district officials struggled with how to address the situation.

“They were not quite sure how to get the call in the false alarm so it was a little bit of a lag time and a little communication between things so as it came in,” Peters said. “It came in as children locked in a classroom.”

Parents like Kimberly Carrasquillo say they are disappointed with the way the situation was handled by the West Irondequoit School District, saying she heard from her scared daughters locked inside classrooms before receiving a robocall notification.

“It was about a half hour,” Carrasquillo said. “I was already here when I got the phone call. I came from Brighton. My daughters texted me. They said they were in lockdown and that they were scared. “

These are reasons that Chief Peters says hopes the district is able to work with the department to make false alarm situations less likely.

“This is a system where you might just need to figure out the communication between the school, the dispatch, and the officers,” Peters said.

But he assures the community, real or false, his officers are prepared to take action to keep students safe, anytime, anywhere.

“We are proud of the guys and girls who reacted on the scene there,” Peters said. “They acted exactly how they were trained.”

Chief Peters says his department will review the response and work with the district to improve the panic button system to make false alarms less likely.