Popping balloons creates false alarm at CMC campus in Edwards
Eagle County Sheriff's Office responded to CMC late Tuesday night
On Tuesday, Eagle County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to an active shooter alarm at the Colorado Mountain College Vail Valley campus in Edwards. Soon after arrival, the patrol team learned that popping balloons were behind the alarm.
According to Ashley LaFleur, the public information officer for the Eagle County Sheriff’s Office, a deputy was notified by a citizen about an active shooter alarm activation at the campus around 8:15 p.m. on Tuesday. LaFleur said that the deputy immediately assembled patrol team members to respond, arriving on the scene at 8:21 p.m.
Residents in the area received a text around 8:15 p.m. that there was an active threat in the area, advising residents to “initiate lockdown procedures immediately, or evacuate if it is safe to do so.”
“Lights, locks, out of sight and stay quiet,” the text added.
By 8:25 p.m., it was “confirmed the alarm was activated due to kids popping balloons and not gunshots,” LaFleur said. “Every room in the building was checked to make sure there wasn’t any sign of emergency.”
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LaFleur added that the department and CMC are now investigating “the activation of the text alert that went out last night, but we are extremely proud of our team’s rapid and thorough response to this incident.”
