Panic Alarm at Cushing Elementary School in Delafield Causes Evacuation

At approximately 3:15 PM on Friday, March 17 members of the City of Delafield Police Department responded to an automated panic alarm at Cushing Elementary School in Delafield. Ultimately it was determined the alarm was false and no one was in danger at the time it was activated.

Due to the unknown nature of the alarm, Officers responded based on training. Also, due to the unknown nature of the alarm, assistance was requested of and provided by our partners from the Villages of Summit, Chenequa, Oconomowoc Lake, Hartland Police Departments and the Waukesha County Sheriff’s Department.

Responding Officers quickly determined the school was in lock down. An initial search of the building did not identify a specific problem. A secondary, more thorough search of the facility also failed to locate any problems.

Officers assisted school staff in evacuating students to an area to reunite with parents.

One of the major challenges was the time of the alarm. Since it occurred near dismissal, there were additional challenges isolating the school when parents had previously been arriving to pick up their children.

The cause of the alarm is currently under investigation. No one was injured as a result of the incident.

At this time, it does not appear there was any criminal conduct that led to the alarm being activity. No one was taken into custody due to the incident.

Based on the observation of responding Officers who made entry to the school, staff responded consistently with their training and should be commended for their actions.