South Eugene High locked down after unverified firearm report

South Eugene High School families were told to stay away from campus Friday morning after Eugene police received a report that a student might have a firearm, setting off a precautionary lockdown just as the school day was underway. The district’s text alert and police response created an immediate pause at the school, 400 E. 19th Ave. in Eugene, where principal Kee Zublin leads the campus.

Eugene police said the report came in at 11:33 a.m. and the school district locked down South Eugene High at 11:40 a.m. Officers then systematically checked all areas of the building. Police later said no gun had actually been seen, underscoring that the incident began as an unverified report rather than a confirmed weapons threat.

Even so, the response disrupted classes and forced families to wait for official updates in the middle of the school day. Eugene Police Department incident reference 26-101890 was assigned to the case, and some officers stayed at the building afterward to continue monitoring the area and help reassure students and staff.

Eugene School District 4J defines a lockdown as a response to a threat or hazard inside the school building. The district says its standard response protocol is built around emergency preparedness, family communication and coordination with law enforcement, the kind of fast-moving system that went into effect within minutes on Friday.

The South Eugene response also landed against a backdrop of earlier threat scares at the school. In May 2023, South Eugene High was evacuated after an unverified bomb threat, classes and after-school activities were canceled for the rest of the day, and police later said they found no active threat after a thorough search. Later that month, Eugene police identified two South Eugene students as suspects in a series of bomb threats tied to an online hoax operation.

For south Eugene families, Friday’s lockdown was a reminder that even an unconfirmed report can quickly change the rhythm of a school day. At South Eugene High, officials and police moved fast, searched methodically and kept the campus under watch until the building was clear enough to lift the lockdown.