Wylie Elementary School in Dexter locked down after report of gunshots

Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Derrick Jackson said the noises sounded similar to gunshots or fireworks and the school, located at 3060 Kensington St., was locked down after the report. At least four sheriff’s office cars were at the school investigating as of 3:40 p.m. Wednesday, he said.

The source of the noises was not known, but no one was injured and there was no known threat to the school or its students, Jackson said.

Dexter Superintendent Mary Marshall said at 2:50 p.m., some teachers at the school heard a series of about seven noises that sounded like gunshots. Because it was dismissal time for the children, staff kept the children inside their classrooms until police could be called, she said.

“Because we couldn’t identify the source of the noises and the children were about to head outside to load buses, we were concerned about the safety of the kids,” she said.

Parent Christian Ward said he was standing around with about 30 other parents waiting to pick up their children Wednesday afternoon and was “getting nervous” when four cars from the sheriff’s department showed up. The principal, Mary Cooper, made an announcement at about 3:15 p.m. stating children with parents at the school could leave but children riding the bus had to stay in their classrooms.

At about 3:40 p.m. Marshall said police gave the OK and the buses were loaded. She said children will be about 20 to 25 minutes late getting home and parents should not worry.

“Police think it may have been firecrackers from a neighborhood near the school,” Marshall said. “We’re glad it was nothing serious.”

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K-12 education reporter Danielle Arndt contributed to this story.