(UPDATE 10am) Police have issued this advisory: All schools are released from lockdown – there is NO credible threat
(UPDATE 9:53am) Officers have completed their search at Central High School without finding any sign of the suspects. Teachers inside the building are Tweeting that the building is still locked down to outsiders. The internal lockdown has been lifted. All St Joseph schools remain on lockdown status.
(UPDATE 9:40am) Police are searching a wide area of the city and took the precaution of locking down all schools in St Joseph, after someone reported a motorist firing an assault weapon. We have no reports of any injuries.
Shortly after 8:30am, police received reports the van was at Frederick and Woodbine heading west. That was the last known location of the vehicle.
Authorities have since received numerous reports from people who said they spotted the minivan being sought. None of those turned out to be the shooter. Officers searched Central High School after a witness reported a van dropping someone off at the school.
St Joseph Police are urging you to be on the lookout for a green Dodge minivan with Ohio license tag number “GIT6870.”
Police say you should not try to apprehend the suspects, but instead call 9-1-1.
A witness said the occupants of the van may have fired an assault weapon while driving on I-29.
The vehicle may be tied to a homicide in Ohio. Authorities believe the driver and two passengers are heavily armed.
(UPDATE 9:04am) Police have asked for a lockdown at all St Joseph Schools. A short time ago someone spotted a green minivan drop someone off at Central High School.
The St Joseph Police Department issued the alert via Nixle shortly after 8:30am Tuesday. Within about ten minutes, they were taking the unusual step of patching the city and county law enforcement dispatch radios into one signal, to coordinate the search for this suspect.
Officials say someone spotted the van heading west on Frederick near 13th Street at about 8:30 this morning. Another report placed the van at Frederick and Woodbine.
A van matching the description, but with different Ohio plates, was stopped briefly in the area of 13th and Frederick. But officials determined that the occupants were not involved.
A second van was spotted in another St Joe neighborhood, but it turned out to be the wrong minivan as well.
We’ll have more details as they become available.