Drug Search at MHS on Friday Morning Comes Up Empty

(Editor's note: This article was updated at 11:45 a.m.)

No drugs were found in a search of by a police K-9 unit on Friday morning, according to Mike Lindstrom, director of community services for the mayor's office.

Lindstrom said the search covered all of the interior of the high school and the parking lot.

"The whole place was clean," he said.

The search was done in conjunction with a lockdown drill run by the Melrose Police Department, with assistance from the Middlesex Sheriff's Office and the Melrose School.

Seven K-9 dogs were used during the search; there were nine representatives from the Sheriff's Office at the school and three representatives from the Melrose Police Department.

"Kids are kept in the classroom," Lindstrom said. "There’s an announcement that there's a drill … they were in that lockdown during the durations of the search, which is the exact procdeure that would be used if there was a threat made against the school."

There was no safety threat at the high school or Melrose Veterans Memorial Middle School during the exercise. A press release from the city stated that it was a training drill and search that has been done in other school districts, including Lynnfield, Lincoln Sudbury, Maynard, Woburn, North Reading, Wayland, Ayer, and Malden Catholic.

"This exercise was one part of our many efforts to provide a safe and healthy learning environment for all of our students, all of the time," said Superintendent Joe Casey and Police Chief Mike Lyle in a joint statement.

This article will be updated as more information is provided.