Two San Juan County schools cancel class

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Classes at two Montezuma Creek schools were canceled Friday while a police search continues for a shooting suspect, according to San Juan County School District Superintendent Ed Lyman.

Whitehorse High School and Montezuma Creek Elementary were placed on lockdown Thursday afternoon, Lyman said, but are expected to resume normal schedules on Monday.

"There is, supposedly, still a suspect at large," Lyman said. "In an abundance of caution we decided last night that we should shut the schools down."

Lyman said the investigation and search were being conducted by the Shiprock Police Department and the FBI. The school district was informed a fatal shooting occurred on the Navajo Nation Reservation Thursday near Aneth, he said.

Lyman did not disclose the identity of the shooting victim, but added that relatives attend the two closed schools. He said counselors will be available for students when classes resume Monday.

"We will have grief and trauma counselors there," Lyman said. "It is a quiet and very tight-knit community."

More information will be provided as it becomes available.

bwood@sltrib.com

Twitter: @bjaminwood