Written by
St. Cloud Times
PRINCETON, Minn. -- Two school buildings and the Princeton Public Schools district office were placed on a soft lockdown for about an hour today following a report of a bank robbery.
The Princeton Police Department received a report of a robbery shortly after noon at People's Bank of Commerce, 209 South Rum River Drive. Officers were still investigating Friday afternoon and it was not immediately clear if a suspect had been identified or apprehended.
According to Superintendent Rick Lahn, school officials were notified at 1 p.m. of the bank robbery report.
The district office and its early childhood center, 706 First St., went on a soft lockdown, meaning all exterior doors were locked but students and staff inside were allowed to move about as usual.
Princeton High School, 807 Eighth Ave. S, and South Elementary, 805 Eighth Ave. S, also were placed on soft lockdown, Lahn said.
"It was a precautionary measure," Lahn said. "You don't want someone to flee from a robbery into a school. After an hour, we got word that the coast was clear and there was no immediate threat so we lifted the lockdown. The students weren't in danger."
Peoples Bank operates six locations with additional offices in Cambridge, East Bethel, Edina and St. Paul.
More details will be reported as they become available.
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