Fireworks go off at high school in Mukilteo, prompting lockdown and fears of a shooting

MUKILTEO, Wash. -- When Kamiak High School went into lockdown Monday morning, students feared it was a shooting.

Turns out it was fireworks.

Mukilteo police are not sure if someone lit the fireworks as a prank or to send a message, but  it caused a lot of emotional distress for students and parents.

“It was a loud boom,” student Brooklyn Pellegrini said.

“I was just in the bathroom and I don’t know what to do because how do I know if someone with a gun is standing outside the bathroom door,” Pellegrini said.

Pellegrini ran 20 feet to the main office while other students went into their classrooms where teachers started locking down.

“She turned off the lights; she put tables by the door,” said one student.

Parents on edge rushed to the school but with roadblocks they couldn’t get close.

"I am really worried so that’s why I am waiting,” parent Nhon Ong said.

“Obviously, the worst-case scenario goes through your mind,” parent Laura Firestack said after several desperate attempts to reach her daughter inside Kamiak High School.

Firestack finally got the call from her daughter confirming she was OK.

After an initial sweep of the school, Mukilteo Police confirmed they found remnants of fireworks between the second and third floor stairwell.

“There is some, I guess, probably security video maybe that school might have, I am not sure about that, but I’m still investigating that portion of it,” Mukilteo Police spokesman Colt Davis said.

The lockdown lasted almost four hours. Police and bomb-sniffing dogs searched every single classroom, even the parking lot, before lifting the lockdown. Parents are grateful it was just a scare but worries about more lockdowns in the future.

“It’s terrifying; I have a 6-year-old that’s in kindergarten now. I have to worry about this every single day now,” Firestack said.

Police say after their first initial sweep of the entire school, there was a slight delay getting into some of the classrooms because they were having issues locating the teachers with the keys to get inside. Police say it’s all a learning experience.

But it was more than that. It was such a tense situation that one student had a panic attack during the lockdown and had to be taken to the hospital.