Man arrested after false threat causes lockdown at Washington-Marion

Lake Charles, LA (KPLC) - A precautionary lockdown at Washington-Marion High School Wednesday has been lifted after a threat made against the school was not found to be credible, according to Calcasieu Parish officials.

911 dispatchers received a call Wednesday morning stating that the school needed to be evacuated within two hours, said Kayla Vincent of the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office. The caller then hung up.

“It was kind of confusing, and I guess this is happening so much that we started getting confused, like we’ve never been in a soft lockdown, so when they said that we was like, so can we leave? Some of the teachers were confused too,” student Saniyah DaCosta said.

The Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office said a soft lockdown means no one is allowed off and on campus, but school instruction can proceed as normal.

Detectives identified the caller as William J. Spain II, 24, who confirmed he made the call, Vincent said. He was booked into the Calcasieu Correctional Center on a charge of false swearing for purpose of violating public safety.

This is not the first threat made to an area school in recent months, and students said it has become frustrating.

“It’s like becoming unnecessary, and it’s like for little petty stuff like that, like you called the police for no reason,” DaCosta said.

The lockdown lasted for two hours. All students were safe and continued with their regular schedules throughout the day.

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