Shooting puts WR schools on lockdown

By Karen Francis
Diné Bureau

FORT DEFIANCE — A 14-year-old boy was shot in the leg on Wednesday and flown to an undisclosed hospital from the Fort Defiance Indian Hospital, Navajo Nation officials said.

The Navajo Nation’s Criminal Investigation unit is still investigating the incident. Navajo law enforcement are asking for witnesses or anyone with information to contact the Window Rock Police Department.

The shooting caused the Window Rock Unified School District schools to be placed on high alert beginning in the early morning hours when the district’s security department was informed of the incident by Navajo Nation Police.

The middle school was put on lockdown and other nearby schools were put on high alert as a security measure, Thomas Jackson, superintendent of the district, said.

In high alert situations, all the doors are secured and classes continue but no one is allowed to leave. When a school has to be put on lockdown, students remain in one classroom for the duration of the lockdown period.

Jackson said that the incident did not disrupt classroom time and putting the schools on high alert was a safety precaution.

“We've had several bomb threats so we've had a lot of practice,” he said.

He noted that every school has a security officer and the security department was instrumental in helping the schools get through the incident.