Lockdown ordered at Rogers HS

Rogers High School was locked down Wednesday after a man approached students outside the building during lunch and asked where he could find a specific student.

“Apparently, he told the students he wanted to kill the young man,” Spokane police spokesman Dick Cottam said in a press release.

Officials said the man and the student were involved in a domestic dispute. Students said the man told them he was seeking revenge on behalf of one of his relatives.

Students contacted school officials, who called the police. School officials then locked down the school for about 75 minutes.

Jerry W. Clark, 32, who lives at 3719 E. Wilding Drive, was arrested at his home and booked into jail for felony harassment. Clark declined to be interviewed at the jail Wednesday night.

The student Clark threatened was removed from Rogers and taken to an undisclosed location for the afternoon, according to a Spokane police news release.

Principal Wallace Williams commended students for handling the tense situation well.

“This kind of thing creates some anxiety and frustration,” Williams said in an interview.

During the lockdown, students were not given many details. “We did let them know their lives were not in any imminent danger,” Williams said.

Some students outside the building said the school was overreacting.

“We take all situations concerning student safety very seriously,” Williams wrote in a note sent home to parents. “Our staff took the necessary precautions to ensure that our students and staff were never at risk.”

School ended on time. Office staff answered a steady flow of calls from parents asking if that would be the case.

“I think Rogers is a safe school,” said Carmen Fischer, 16, a junior at Rogers. “This to me was an overreaction.”