Window Rock Schools, Hospital Placed on Soft Lockdown After Shooter Reports

A threat call to Tse Hoot Sooi Medical Center in Fort Defiance set off a chain of events that placed Window Rock Unified School District schools and hospital facilities across the Navajo Nation capital on soft lockdown around 12:40 p.m. on March 24.

The sequence began Tuesday morning when a woman called Tse Hoot Sooi Medical Center and made threats toward staff, according to the Navajo Nation Police Department. Later that day, separate callers reported a suspicious vehicle near the same medical center. Officers responded to those calls, and the Navajo Nation Police Department subsequently received reports of an active shooter at hospital facilities in both Fort Defiance and St. Michaels — prompting the precautionary lockdown of Window Rock Unified School District schools and schools near the incidents.

When officers arrived at the scene, there was no active shooter present, the department said in a Facebook post. Authorities described the situation as an isolated incident and said there was no threat to the community or public offices. Law enforcement remained on scene investigating at the time of the department's statement.

Window Rock serves as the seat of the Navajo Nation government, making the lockdown's reach notable: the soft lockdown extended beyond the school district to include hospital facilities tied to the Fort Defiance and St. Michaels areas.

The department did not identify the woman who made the threat call to Tse Hoot Sooi Medical Center, and no information on arrests, detentions, or injuries was included in the initial reports. It also remained unclear when the lockdown was lifted or whether the suspicious vehicle was located. The Navajo Nation Police Department has not released a follow-up statement confirming the investigation's outcome.