Highline’s main campus locked down yesterday due to the presence of a Jeep Cherokee with known firearms near the roundabout in the northeast parking lot. The male and female suspect in the Jeep Cherokee were targeting specific Highline students, who are working with Highline College Public Safety (HCPS) to stay safe. 

The Jeep Cherokee was first seen around the Starbucks parking lot sometime on Tuesday. The two in the vehicle followed the two targeted Highline students, brandishing a firearm and threatening the students. The students reported the vehicle to emergency services, which led to a joint effort between HCPS, Kent Police Department, and Des-Moines Police Department. 

According to HCPS Director David Menke, “Two Highline students reported a threat with a firearm across the street somewhere in the Starbucks area … by a male and female [in the car] that pointed the weapon at our students. They called 911, Kent PD responded. Kent PD worked with Des Moines PD because they knew the target of that incident was a Highline student.”

In a press release, Des Moines PD stated, “We were advised the threat was directed at a specific individual(s) who were reported to be a student at Highline College. There were no threats made toward the school itself.”

While the two students targeted by the suspects remain anonymous, HCPD and local PD are working with the affected students to ensure they remain protected amid the threat. 

Menke continued, “So the Des Moines PD is working with Kent PD, as well as [HCPS] to keep the campus safe. I did get enough information to get the vehicle. I reviewed our video footage, did find it in our parking lot. … That’s why I sent out an all-points bulletin [Wednesday morning].” 

HCPS spent Tuesday afternoon scouring the cameras, trying to identify and locate the vehicle. It was then HCPS Director David Menke found the vehicle prowling campus on Tuesday through surveillance, and sent out an APB across campus Wednesday morning. 

Around 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, one of the HCPS officers located the vehicle in the east lot, around the traffic circle and Campus View. This led to an immediate lockdown. Kent and Des Moines PD were in the area, and the Cherokee fled onto 240th St. within moments. 

“Yesterday, our officer on patrol saw it come in. Since we had already talked to Des Moines PD and they recommended a lockdown, if that vehicle came on campus, we called 911, [and] locked down the campus through the multiple messages we sent out. … It fled almost immediately. We heard Kent PD and Des Moines PD right away. Their sirens were on and [the Jeep] pretty much left the campus right away,” Menke confirmed. 

Highline’s Emergency Alert System (EAS) sent out emails to all Highline addresses, text messages, as well as phone calls to all students enrolled in the EAS. The specific system Highline employs is able to alert all contacts enrolled within a minute, in up to 200 different languages. 

HCPS sent out four text alerts within a 30 minute window communicating to the campus about the vehicle fleeing and of police presence. Each individual alert was sent by email, text, and multiple phone calls. 

Locations were not included in the initial alerts. “We didn’t want to put a [location] because by the time I send you an alert, it’s in a new location. … And if I had learned anything from the past, it was: once you put the campus in lockdown, people get antsy, if they don’t know what’s going on.” 

Lockdown drills take place every quarter, and while the lockdown protocol is not published on the Highline website for students to access, faculty and staff are trained to lock doors, cover windows with either paper or blinds, and to not allow students to enter or exit classrooms.

Despite this, there were still students walking around campus, ignorant of the lockdown. Some faculty and staff were continuing to allow students to enter and exit classrooms during the active lockdown. 

“That is something that we still need to work on with staff [and faculty] for training. We did have [Public Safety] staff out there trying to direct students that are outside. They’re normally told to avoid the affected area and leave campus. … That is something we are going to have to focus on, with the orientations and then also with staff and faculty training. Because a lot of our training is playing a video for them, walking through their area and discussing how they will lock down. So a lot of our focus is on locking down and we need to make sure we broaden it and be like, okay, we do tell them like if students are in your door you help you know, we advise them to go off-campus.”

There was a portion of students who were not aware of the lockdown as it was happening, which highlights the different strategies HCPS is exploring in order to strengthen its EAS infrastructure. The recently implemented Safety Management Fee is intended to supply the HCPS with a wider budget for projects of this kind. 

“I looked at having outdoor speakers to try and get more messaging out there as well. … It’s just the bandwidth of having ITS assisting us,” said Menke. Menke also referred to the exorbitant cost of installing the blue light towers. The repair of the south lot tower cost approximately $30 thousand after it was damaged by a student driver. This includes concrete setting, wiring, programming, hardware, and labor. “With that money, we think we could now look at more options like strobes and stuff because it was significantly expensive.” 

HCPS sent out a follow up on Thursday reminding the campus of specific dos and don’ts of lockdown incidents on campus. 

If you have not signed up for Highline Alerts, or didn’t receive the alert messages about the lockdown, visit the Highline College Alerts page for more information on how to sign up.

**Mavrie has been serving as editor for the ThunderWord since 2024. She is also the founding president of Highline’s Non-fiction Writers Circle.**