UPDATE, 12:24 p.m.: Eureka Police Chief Todd Jarvis tells the Outpost’s Andrew Goff, on scene, that they have a suspect in custody.

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UPDATE, 11:47 a.m.: Updates from EPD:

UPDATE: Police are now searching the greenbelt area to the north of the Eureka High Campus with a drone. They are looking for a white male in his 40’s, bleach blonde hair shaved short, last seen wearing a blue sweatshirt. The male was seen walking in the greenbelt with what appeared to be a rifle over his shoulder and had a small black Chihuahua. Call 911 if you see anyone matching this description.

UPDATE: Based on the recommendation of EPD, EHS has moved from a hard lockdown to a soft lockdown. Teachers will resume instruction with students 𝐏𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐝𝐨 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐮𝐩 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 - 𝐄𝐏𝐃 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲, 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧.

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UPDATE, 11 a.m.: Assistant Police Chief Brian Stephens tells the Outpost’s Andrew Goff, on scene, that there is no threat to students, and that the school was closed out of an abundance of caution. The police’s investigation is focused on the greenbelt, and as kids often head that way during the lunch period they wanted to get ahead of that.

Parents are asked not to come to the school, Stephens said

A Eureka High School administrator sent the following message to staff a few minutes ago:

Staff,

Please remain in a hard lockdown.

EPD is concerned about a potential threat in the surrounding area. We are evacuating the woodshop to the Ag building. Reminder, please keep all students away from windows and doors, with blinds shut and doors locked. If someone needs entry into your room they will key in.

UPDATE, 10:48 a.m.: EPD spokesperson Brittany Powell tells the Outpost that a man with a firearm was seen in the greenbelt north of the school. Powell said that Police Chief Todd Jarvis wishes to emphasize that the lockdown is purely cautionary. No one at the school has been hurt.

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ORIGINAL POST: Eureka High School went on hard lockdown a few minutes ago, which students being confined in their rooms and told to stay quiet, according to several messages received by the Outpost.

The Eureka Police Department says, on its Facebook page, that their officers are investigating an incident off-campus but “in close proximity,” and called for the lockdown out of an “abundance of caution.” They’re asking people to stay out of the area.

Scanner traffic indicates that police are searching a wide area of town around the school.

We’ll update when we know more.