Distraught student prompts short lockdown at Boise High

A 17-year-old Boise High School student calmed down and came down without incident Tuesday morning after threatening to kill himself on the school roof.

Negotiators from the Boise Police Department spoke to the boy, who was not publicly identified, and were able to convince him to come down with them, Lt. Stan Niccolls said.

“The good thing was that no students were ever in danger,” Niccolls said.

The boy did not have any weapons and he did not threaten anyone else, Niccolls said. He was taken to a police car in handcuffs at 11:20 a.m. and driven away for a mental health evaluation.

The boy was on the roof on the west end of the building, Boise School District spokesman Dan Hollar said. Students from classrooms in that area were evacuated and taken to another part of the campus, he said.

At the scene, the father of a sophomore girl said he received a text message from the school at 10:05 a.m. saying the school was in lockdown because of a “disruptive student.” The text, sent 20 minutes after the school district was notified and about 35 minutes after the incident began, said no weapons were involved and that students were safe inside.

The man said he walked down to the school after sending two text messages to his daughter but receiving no response.

“This is kind of freaking me out,” he said.

He said he felt much better after Hollar approached and told a reporter that no one was injured during the incident.

With the lockdown ended, Hollar said classes would proceed Tuesday afternoon as usual.

This story was originally published March 8, 2016 at 12:23 PM with the headline "Distraught student prompts short lockdown at Boise High."