3 students detained, said they had gun, planned shooting

MISSOULA (AP) — Three juveniles were detained for questioning Thursday after reports that some students at Hellgate High School in Missoula indicated they planned a school shooting, Missoula police said.

The school was locked down for just over an hour, starting just before 1:30 p.m.

Principal Judson Miller said all students are safe.

"We had a few students indicate they had a firearm and were going to conduct a 'school shooting,'" Judson wrote in an email to parents. "We identified the students and are working on next steps with police."

Police continue to investigate and were meeting with the parents of the detained students, police spokesperson Lydia Arnold said. She would not say whether any firearms were found in the building.

The lockdown began after a student told a school administrator that they had been told to leave school because there was a student with a firearm and something was going to happen at 1:30 p.m., police said.

The school resource officer called other police who responded along with officers from Missoula County, the Montana Highway Patrol, the FBI, the U.S. Marshals Service and probation and parole.

Officers and school staff were able to identify the three juveniles associated with the threat and removed them from their classroom, Arnold said in a statement.