Lockdown Drill Conducted at High School, Middle School

North Reading Police Chief Michael Murphy said there was a drill at North Reading High School and Middle School on Thursday “to see if the faculty is prepared to lockdown their classrooms in an emergency situation.”

Murphy said police and the School Department worked together to organize the drill and included a K-9 search of the schools.

“The goal of the drill was to test the readiness of the school department in the event that a lockdown had to be initiated. Concurrent to the lockdown was a K-9 sniff search of certain school areas to include the parking area where both students and faculty park their vehicles. This drill was conducted without advanced notice as this would have compromised the integrity of the drill which is designed to see if the faculty is prepared to lockdown their classrooms in an emergency situation.”

Murphy said a number of agencies helped in the drill, including MBTA Police, Malden Police, Medford Police, Chelmsford Police, Middlesex Sheriffs and Essex Sheriffs.

“Chief Murphy and Superintendent Bernard would like to thank all of the students and faculty for their cooperation in this important drill. We believe this proactive approach coupled with other strategies will help make the schools safer and create a better learning environment,” said the North Reading Police in a statement.