Concerns around an afternoon shooting in a reported First Hill street robbery a mile and a half away from the Central District campus appear to have been behind the closure of Garfield High in the middle of the school day Thursday as officials are on edge after a series of recent shootings around the school.

Officials say they will hold a campus safety meeting with families next week.

Seattle Public Schools says its officials decided to close the 23rd Ave campus and send students home Thursday at 2 PM and keep the school closed Friday “out of an abundance of caution” and were “investigating a threat to the area that could affect the school’s standard dismissal time.”

“Today, we closed school early due to threats that appeared to be related to dismissal time and after school. Seattle Police Department and SPS Security were on campus and in the neighborhood during our early dismissal,” a message to families from Garfield principal Tarance Hart reads. “No incidents were seen or reported.”

The closure came after what Seattle Police said was a reported street robbery attempt that left a man shot in the leg outside a First Hill Key Bank around 12:40 PM — an incident more than a mile away from the school. According to East Precinct radio updates, the shooting prompted a series of school lockdowns in the immediate area including at Seattle University and also generated at least one rumor of a school shooting at a nearby private school campus. Police investigated and found that rumor unwarranted.

At Garfield, students reported police had already been on the campus earlier Thursday before the First Hill shooting for an unknown investigation.

After the gunfire on First Hill, the decision was made to close the Central District school where gun violence concerns have been heightened after a series of shootings near the Garfield campus.

The most recent took place last Friday night at 25th and Jefferson where a 29-year-old victim suffered gunshot wounds to his chest in the street just a bock behind the campus. Another shooting a block away at 26th and Jefferson that Wednesday sent a teenager to the hospital. Late last Thursday afternoon, the parking lot at Garfield became a crime scene after a shootout in front of the school that sent  a 19-year-old to the hospital.

There have been no reported arrests in the string of shootings. SPD and school officials have been reluctant to connect the shootings to the school campus until Thursday’s closure.

“We know the increase in violence in our community has raised concerns for students, families, and staff,” principal Hart said Thursday. “SPS will be using this time to gather information, consult with partners, and work on measures to support our school.”

The school’s PTSA has called for a meeting on campus safety that will take place Monday night.

Concerns over gun violence around Garfield have flared before. CHS reported in December 2021 on a Garfield community discussion about how to better protect students and the campus from gun violence following a shootout on the school’s grounds. In 2021, SPD Chief Adrian Diaz advocated for the return of school resource officers but solutions that centered around community and larger systems were also proposed. Principal Hart has emphasized community solutions including calling on parents and community members to volunteer at Garfield. Once school is dismissed, volunteers are needed to be on campus during late practices and other school activities. The principal has also said more resources for mentorship and exposure to different pathways and careers are crucial beyond traditional public safety strategies.

Seattle Police has continued to advocate for the return of its officers to school campuses. In the summer of 2020, the Seattle School Board suspended a partnership with SPD that provided five armed officers at Seattle schools. The program — which cost the district about $120,000 a year — remains on hold.

Earlier this year, district Superintendent Dr. Brent Jones formed a new “community action team” consisting of safety, civic leaders, and community action groups to evaluate data and assess the experiences at schools and surrounding communities. The team comprises SPS school leaders, Seattle Police Department, City of Seattle, and community groups and partners that provide enrichment opportunities before and after school.

The district said it was also conducting a safety review of every campus including the school building management and capital improvement teams.

There are also efforts to improved the around around Garfield High and the Garfield Community Center with the $8.4 million Garfield Super Block project that officials and community leaders hope will transform the area’s public spaces.

Meanwhile, the Garfield campus remains closed Friday with students on a delayed schedule and attending class via the “remote learning” systems used during the height of the pandemic. Classes are expected to resume on campus Monday.

PLEASE HELP KEEP CHS PAYWALL-FREE!
Subscribe to CHS to help us pay writers and photographers to cover the neighborhood. CHS is a pay what you can community news site with no required sign-in or paywall. Become a subscriber to help us cover the neighborhood for as little as $5 a month.