At 10:50 a.m. on Friday, Dec. 1, parents of students at West Sedona School were notified that the school was under lockdown.

A message from the school read: “Hello West Sedona Parents and Guardians, A short time ago, West Sedona School was placed on a ‘Shelter In Place’ emergency response status. ‘Shelter in Place’ requires that teachers account for all students, lock doors, and continue teaching. The reason for this precautionary measure was that a visitor had signed in at the campus front office but did not report to the designated teacher’s room.

“Because the visitor was unaccounted for, administration secured all children and staff in order to determine the location of the visitor. At this time, the Sedona Police Department is on campus and evidence suggests that the visitor is no longer on the campus.

“They are continuing their investigation to confirm the visitor’s departure and do not believe that there is any threat to student safety. Thank you for supporting student safety when, with an abundance of caution, we seek to verify that all visitors to campus are accounted for at all times.”

At 11:12 a.m. on Friday, parents were notified that the campus was clear and educational operations returned to normal. Parents were notified by a message from the school that read: “Hello West Sedona Parents, At this time, the Shelter In Place emergency response status has ended. West Sedona School has resumed normal operations. With the support of the Sedona Police Department, campus security was verified. Thank you for your patience. Student safety is always our first priority.”