(UPDATE, 12:53 pm) The GFPD says that the schools have resumed normal status and activities, and traffic is moving again.
Several officers will remain on scene for a while as they investigate the incident that was originally reported as a physical disturbance with the possibility of a firearm present.
No other details have been released. We will update you if we get more information.
(1st REPORT) The Great Falls Police Department says that officers are responding to a "disturbance" that has resulted in a precautionary "shelter in place" at two schools.
The agency said at about 12:30 p.m. on Friday, October 3, 2025, that there is a large police presence in the area along 15th Street and 16th Street from Eighth Avenue South to Ninth Avenue South, and several streets are blocked.
Details of the reported disturbance have not been released.
Great Falls High School and Longfellow Elementary School have implemented shelter-in-place procedures as the incident is investigated.
We will update you if we get more information.
GFPS safety procedures:
- Evacuation: Defined as an internal emergency that requires students and staff to leave the building for their safety. Parents should follow emergency notifications.
- Lockdown: Defined as an internal and/or immediate threat. All staff and students are locked in rooms. No one IN or OUT!
- Shelter In Place: Defined as a safety precaution for an external threat that is not an immediate or internal threat.
- Class Hold: Defined as a safety precaution implemented during an incident where students need to be kept in the classroom.
Release with Care: Defined as a possible threat in the schools’ neighborhoods during arrival and release time. Release with care procedures:
- To ensure safety, the building administrator may ask staff to escort students to/from buses or waiting cars.
- Staff may also be asked to accompany students home.
Student safety: walking to/from school
- Students should walk in groups or pairs
- Students should travel on a designated route, and parents should know the route their student is taking
- Students should check in with a responsible individual when they arrive at home
- Students should be taught to always be aware of their surroundings
- Students should avoid alleys on their designated route to/from school
- Students should walk on designated sidewalks and in well-lit areas
- Parents should notify the school when after-school procedures change
Click here to visit the Safety page on the GFPS website for more information.
