On Wednesday morning, Feb. 4, Millard South High School went into a lockdown after the school received an anonymous swatting call. A message was then sent out to families from administration briefly informing them of the situation at 9:12 a.m. Due to the swiftness of law enforcement, they were able to search the building and discover that there was no threat and the lockdown was lifted. At 9:54 a.m., a follow up email was sent out to families saying the building had been cleared, no one was hurt and they would continue on the day as normal.
Skyler Wiechman, a junior from Millard South, said that she was sitting in Chemistry when Assistant Principal Matthew Geerts came on over the intercom and said, “Patriots we are going into a lockdown. This is not a drill.”
Per protocol teachers secured the room by locking the doors and blocking out any windows that lead to the hallway. Lights were turned off and students were told to be quiet. According to Wiechman, about 20 minutes after the lockdown started Geerts came onto the intercom and said “Hello Patriots. We will be staying in lockdown and we informed your parents. We want to keep you in the know, so here is what is happening: someone called in saying they had a sawed-off shotgun and were in one of the bathrooms. We told the police and they are checking room by room.”
Another student at Millard South, senior Janet Nass, said that she was in the bathroom when they came onto the intercom and said they were in a lockdown. At first they thought it was a joke until a teacher came and told them it was real.
“The SWAT agents came in with big huge guns and cleared the area quickly. They walked around the school a bit afterwards to just make sure everything was still good,” Nass said. Some students were able to reach their parents during the lockdown but some were not.
For years now, school shootings have become a realistic fear for students who in America. Students have to live with that constant worry in the back of their mind. According to the K-12 School Shooting Database, in 2025 there were 233 school shootings. This data includes when a gun is fired, brandished with intent to harm or a bullet hits school property for any reason, regardless of the number of victims, time, or day of the week. This data also excludes shootings on college campuses. So far in 2026, there have been 12 school shootings.
The trauma that comes along with school shootings is immense. Even a false alarm where law enforcement has to come and sweep the school can be traumatizing for students. Although still serious, it was just a false alarm swatting call and Millard South administration acted quickly and safely with their students well being in mind. They locked down the building and informed the students as soon as they got more information about the situation.
“I feel good about my school, knowing that they handled the situation well by going to authorities right away,” Wiechman said.
