By Kevin Hanson-The Courier-Herald
Rumors of pending violence made for a shaky Monday at Enumclaw High School, with police patrolling inside the school building and through the parking lot while concerned parents took students home.
Students were aware something was amiss from the start, while the school district attempted to keep parents updated with two press releases posted on its Web site throughout the day. A recorded phone message from Principal David Dorn was issued to the homes of all EHS students late in the day.
The uneasiness started Thursday with a fight among students, which was handled internally. Rumors spread during the following day of a possible act of retaliation to be carried out Monday at the school.
“Some students heard unconfirmed rumors that there may be some type of retaliation to an incident that occurred last week,” said Eric Sortland, spokesman for the Enumclaw Police Department.
“We're not acting on any specific information,” Sortland said Monday morning, “but we're there (on campus) to provide a strong visual presence.”
Administrators and teachers attempted to carry on as though it were a normal day, but the police in the hallways and the sight of students leaving campus made Monday anything but normal.
School officials and police were mum on the cause of the Thursday fight, but the word leaked out that it was race-related.
“This type of behavior will not be tolerated at any of our schools especially when it causes continual disruption to the school day and results in countless hours of work to determine the validity and to secure the safety of students and staff,” Superintendent Mike Nelson wrote in a press release.
“In this particular situation, rumors circulated about another incident occurring today at Enumclaw High School. Our high school administration team and law enforcement agencies are taking these rumors very seriously.”
Over the weekend, Nelson met with the high school administrative team at the district office and was in correspondence with the Enumclaw Police Department.
“We were able to get to the root of the rumors and were able to make appropriate contacts,” Nelson wrote.
It was confirmed that students have been expelled as a result of the incident.
Kevin Hanson can be reached at khanson@courierherald.com.
