Police search for ‘suspicious man’ outside high school in Overland Park
Shawnee Mission South High School conducted a lockdown Thursday while police searched for a suspicious person on the premises, police said.
Officers responded to the school, at 5800 W 107th Street in Overland Park, on a call for a suspicious person seen on the north side of the school near a wooded area, police said in a news release.
The suspicious person was described as a white man in his late 20s with a beard, and wearing a tan baseball cap and tan pants, said Officer John Lacy, a police spokesman.
An external lockdown lasted for an hour while police searched the area with K-9 officers and drones. Police were unable to locate the man.
No one was allowed in or out of the building during the lockdown, but other activities took place as normal.
“School officials took the appropriate action by conducting a lockdown, bringing all students and staff inside the building,” Lacy said in a statement.
In a statement to parents, Shawnee Mission South Principal Todd Dain assured families that the police presence at the school had nothing to do with students and staff.
“Everyone at the school is safe, and instruction is proceeding as normal,” Dain said in a statement to parents.
Officers will be on school grounds until dismissal, Lacy said in a statement.
This story was originally published April 17, 2025 at 1:33 PM.
