Scottsdale police search Cocopah Middle School for reported 'armed person'

SCOTTSDALE, AZ - Students returned to campus after police checked on a report of a person with a weapon Wednesday morning at a Scottsdale school.

Scottsdale police Sgt. Mark Clark said officers searched Cocopah Middle School near Shea and 64th Street where an armed person was reportedly seen on the school property before school hours.

Clark said that around 6 a.m. a cafeteria worker saw a man with a weapon. The subject was described as having a gun and wearing a trench coat. No words were exchanged between the two, Clark said.

The person was reportedly in his 20s.

Clark said the report appeared to be credible and police did a room to room search of the whole campus. A police helicopter was also used in the search.

Parents were told to take their children to the nearby Chaparral High School auditorium.

Chaparral High School was on modified lockdown, officials said.

Clark said police took the situation very seriously.

"We want to make sure when they [the students] come back to school that they're safe and there's no one on campus," he said.

Students were allowed onto campus at Cocopah Middle School around 10 a.m.