Two Southeast Idaho schools faced security scares Wednesday that sent law enforcement scrambling before both incidents were resolved without injury.

A high school lockdown in Pocatello was a brief precautionary measure and another at a K-12 school in Bancroft was an hours-long incident involving a full-scale emergency response with a school-wide evacuation and tactical units dispatched from multiple jurisdictions.

Pocatello High School was placed on a brief lockdown around noon Wednesday after Pocatello police received a report of a man carrying a gun near campus. Officers located the man near North Seventh Avenue and East Center Street and determined the firearm was an airsoft BB gun.

The man told police he was heading into the hills on the east side of town to shoot the gun and was released without incident. Police said there was no credible threat and the lockdown was lifted in less than 30 minutes.

The Pocatello-Chubbuck School District 25 notified PHS families and staff by email at 12:05 p.m., confirming the situation had been cleared by law enforcement, that all students and staff were safe and that normal school operations had resumed.

In Bancroft, a town of about 320 people located northeast of Lava Hot Springs, the North Gem School was evacuated late Wednesday morning after a threat mentioning explosives and firearms prompted a massive law enforcement response. Caribou County Sheriff Adam Mabey said the threat was reported around 11:30 a.m.

“We took it really, really seriously,” Mabey said.

Authorities evacuated the entire school and swept the campus before school administrators walked through with officers to ensure nothing concerning had been left behind. Students were reunified with their parents at the nearby The Church of Latter Day Saints building and sent home for the remainder of the day.

Other schools in Caribou County, including the Soda Springs and Grace school districts, were placed on lockdown until the situation was deemed secure but resumed normal operations Wednesday afternoon, Mabey said.

The Caribou County Sheriff’s Office announced on Facebook at 2:30 p.m. that the law enforcement response at North Gem had concluded and no actionable threats were found to the school or community.

Agencies responding to the scene in Bancroft included the Caribou County and Bear Lake County sheriff’s offices, Soda Springs and Montpelier police departments, Idaho Department of Corrections and Caribou County Emergency Medical Services. The Regional STAR team — a multiagency tactical unit — was also on standby.

Mabey praised the community and parents for their calm and orderly response throughout the incident.

“There wasn’t mass confusion,” Mabey said. “Parents came and picked up their children in a safe and calm manner. I think it’s a reflection of the rural community that stands together.”

Mabey said the incident may be connected to a national trend of so-called “swattings” — false threats designed to provoke a serious law enforcement response.

“We have to handle each one as if it’s a real incident,” he said.

Mabey said its investigation into the threat is ongoing.