On Thursday, January 18th, 2024 at approximately 1900 hours, a caller reported that a man was seen with a handgun at Kent Middle School. The caller told Dispatch they were initially flagged down by a juvenile who had seen the man with the gun, but they were unsure of the validity of the claim. 

Another caller advised they had seen a subject matching the description, but no firearm was seen, only the subject holding a cell phone. 

Deputies responded and searched the campus, locking down the gym which had a basketball practice taking place. An exhaustive search was conducted, with no evidence or persons matching the description located on the school campus. 

Deputies assisted in escorting students and parents to their vehicles to leave the campus as a precaution. 

At this time there is not believed to be any threat to the campus or students. Follow up with the school to review security camera footage will take place during daytime hours with school staff. If you have any information related to this, please contact our Public Information Officer, Sgt Adam Schermerhorn at A_Schermerhorn@marinsheriff.org