Some Jefferson City Public Schools buildings were placed on "lockout" status Friday morning due to police activity in the area.
According to school district reports, Jefferson City High School, Nichols Career Center and Thorpe Gordon Elementary were all in lockout status from 9:45-10 a.m.
Police department officials said they were conducting a narcotics investigation in the area.
"This security measure was not the result of a threat to any of our schools, but rather a precautionary measure," school district spokesman Amy Berendzen said. "In a lockout status, the entrances to the schools are locked so no one can get in or out, but the students inside the building can move about freely. In a lockdown status, not only are the entrances locked, but students are kept inside their classrooms until an all-clear is given."
Berendzen said the district used a new app to notify school building administrators about the situation.
The Lokdown app sends messages to administrators, teachers and emergency response agencies when an emergency situation arises and allows for those involved to communicate with each other in a short period of time, particularly helping to make sure students and staff in buildings are accounted for and safe.
"We've got most of the buildings in the district tested, but there are a few more that need to be done before we go completely operational by next year," Berendzen said. "I think of the incident in April when a school bus was hit by gunshots. Had we had this app in place, we might have been able to get out information a lot quicker. I think it will be a big benefit to our communications and for the safety of our schools."