Rantz: Seattle school with encampment went on lockdown over firearm sighting

A homeless man seen with a suspected firearm sent Broadview-Thompson K-8 into lockdown as Seattle Police searched the encampment feet from campus. A class and students from the school’s on-site child care partner were outside at the time.

The school is steps away from a growing, dangerous encampment on property owned by the school district. But the Seattle School Board refuses to sweep the camp.

One parent reports that “police swarmed the school” after they were alerted to the incident.

The man was spotted by the school’s security around 1 p.m. Tuesday afternoon. According to the principal, the guard “saw a person with what appeared to be a firearm on the other side of the fence, toward Bitter Lake.”

Thankfully, no one was injured.

The Seattle School Board has come under fire for refusing to sweep the encampment. They’re ideologically opposed to sweeps. But the fear from parents is that one of the homeless occupants will cause harm to their children. That fear almost became fully realized.

Rantz: Online tantrum by Seattle School Board’s Chandra Hampson possibly illegal

Firearm spotted with a homeless man by campus

Principal Tipton Blish emailed parents Tuesday evening concerning the scary ordeal.

“We moved a class that was outside during recess and students from Big Blast – our on-campus childcare partner – into the building and went into shelter in place, and we called 911,” she wrote. “A shelter in place means classes go on as usual but everyone stays inside – as always, all of our outside doors are locked.”

Seattle officers stayed on campus until all students were released out of their front entryway and exit, according to the email. Due to the safety concerns over the encampment, the school has relegated students, staff, and parents to the entry and exit at the front of the school. It’s farthest from the encampment, which is steps from a playground, separated only by a fence recently reinforced.

“We learned that Seattle Police officers found the person and the weapon, which they told us was a pellet gun,” Blish reported.

This can only get worse

No one was hurt this time. But, to be blunt, these children are living on borrowed time.

Someone is bound to get hurt — or worse — due to the inaction of the Seattle School Board, led by radical activist Chandra Hampson. She is a menace and your kids are in danger because of her and the board’s decisions.

The board refuses to sweep the encampment, arguing it is inhumane to do so. They’d rather keep homeless people sleeping in tents, surrounded by human waste and garbage, without access to running water, electricity, or dignity. They will do this until activist demands of subsidized housing are met.

But these children are in danger.

The encampment is growing and we have no idea who lives in those tents. Parents have seen fights break out and even swords on display. Now, add a pellet gun to the mix — one that could have been used to injure a child.

When Hampson and the board finally act, the fear is that it will be too late. It shouldn’t take an injured child for them to be reasonable and sweep the encampment. But it looks like that is the direction we’re headed. That should disturb everyone.

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