Though the strange concurrence of a fluke fire alarm and nearby gunshots created a stressful situation for Torrington, Wyoming, police and Torrington High School on Thursday afternoon, everyone was fine after the incident, the local police chief said.
Investigators have since learned that the gunshots came from personnel at a nearby livestock sale barn euthanizing a miserable cow.
At about 47 minutes after noon, Goshen County dispatch received a report of multiple gunshots on the west side of Torrington High School, near the Torrington Livestock Market, according to a Thursday statement by the local police department.
Police and Goshen County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to the area to check on the students.
At almost the same moment as the gunshots, a fire alarm sounded throughout the school, signaling for students to evacuate, says the statement.
School resource officers immediately told high school administrators of the gunshots of the west side, so administrators and police worked to direct students away from the reported danger, while other officers investigated the source of the gunshots.
Authorities told other schools in the area about the incident, and they went into a secure status.
Students remained outside until authorities determined they could return to the building safely.
But just as the students filed back inside, the fire alarm sounded again.
The fire alarm’s activation is believed to be from a system malfunction, the statement says.
“That was a little bit more of an adventurous afternoon than we’d hoped for,” Torrington Police Chief Matt Johnson told Cowboy State Daily, adding that school officials heard multiple gunshots.
“We’re certainly very grateful this had a positive outcome, but what matters is getting everybody where they need to be quickly so we can keep kids safe,” he said. On Thursday, first responders and school personnel worked together well and made a plan quickly.”
Certainly Didn’t Mean For That To Happen
Lex Madden, co-owner of the Torrington Livestock Market, apologized heartily Thursday, saying no one at the business intended to cause any harm or panic.
“We want to apologize to the town of Torrington and the school for causing a shutdown,” Madden told Cowboy State Daily.
He was not at the business when the shots sounded, but he said that a cow was “down and suffering,” and the barn attendees needed to put it out of its misery. Often they have their veterinarian handle that, but he was not on hand when they needed to euthanize the animal, so they handled it.
“We don’t like to let animals suffer,” he said, adding that “we were not trying to cause any commotion.”
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
