Franklin police will conduct regular patrols at Indian Community School when students return Monday, according to a statement from the school sent Thursday night.
The added security comes after a handgun threat against a staff member led the school to close Thursday and Friday.
“We determined that a school closure was necessary to protect the wellbeing of students and staff and to ensure that the individual was in custody and the weapon recovered,” read the statement.
The school has also hired a security firm to provide additional safety staff on site.
Mental health, employee assistance and wellness clinicians will also be available Monday to support staff and students.
“These measures are part of our commitment to maintaining a secure environment for our school community,” the statement read.
Background
The measures follow an incident Wednesday evening that began as a disagreement over brush clearing near a neighboring property and escalated when an individual pointed and waved a handgun at an Indian Community School staff member, according to school officials.
The incident occurred on undeveloped school-owned land south of the Polonia soccer fields – not near any area used by students, according to the statement, which was also sent to families.
The staff member was not injured.
The 62-year-old individual with the gun was arrested for recklessly endangering safety, according to other news outlets.
Police advised Indian Community School that a lockdown was not necessary at the time of the incident.
Siobhan Marks, the school’s communications and marketing director, said administrators decided to close the school while police completed their work and put additional security measures in place.
“We decided to close the school out of an abundance of caution, give the police time to do what they need to do, and to allow us to put some additional security measures in place,” Marks said.
Previous incident
Wednesday’s incident was unrelated to a lockdown at the school Tuesday prompted by social media posts that raised concerns about a possible firearm.
Franklin police investigated Tuesday’s incident and determined that what was pictured in the social media post was not an actual firearm or ammunition and that there was no direct threat to the school community.
Marks said the lockdown lasted roughly 20 to 30 minutes. The school held buses until the lockdown was lifted.
The school began notifying families within minutes of the lockdown and told them buses would be delayed, Marks said.
Indian Community School is a private, faith-based intertribal school in Franklin serving Indigenous students from the Milwaukee area.
The faith-based inter-tribal school served 359 students during the 2024-25 school year, according to its website.
The school places a focus on traditional Indigenous teachings, native languages and cultural values. The school was founded in 1959 and moved to its current location from Milwaukee in 2007.
Jonathan Aguilar is a visual journalist at Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service who is supported through a partnership between CatchLight Local and Report for America.
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