Threats against two Bay Area high school campuses prompted a lockdown at one school and a shelter-in-place order at another Monday afternoon, according to authorities.
Around 1:50 p.m., Palo Alto’s 24-hour dispatch center received two calls about a suspect armed with a rifle walking toward Gunn High School at 780 Arastradero Road, the Palo Alto Police Department said in a news release. One caller described the suspect as a teen boy while the other described him as a man in his 20s.
Police said both callers provided information that led them to believe it was possible the calls were hoaxes, but police treated the incident as legitimate and officers were dispatched to the campus.
Around the same time, administrators at the high school also received a call from a person who claimed he was on his way to the campus with a bomb, police said. But he provided a name and date of birth that did not appear to correspond to a real person.
A shelter-in-place order was issued for Gunn High School, as well as nearby Fletcher Middle School, while police conducted an investigation, according to authorities.
Following a review of surveillance footage and a search of the campus, police and school administrators lifted the shelter-in-place order around 3:40 p.m., police said. The order for Fletcher was lifted earlier because no threat was directed at the school.
Detectives are working to identify the callers, police said, adding that it was not immediately clear if the calls were placed by the same person. No arrests were announced Monday night.
“Hoax threats and false reports of emergencies are not only criminal in nature, but they also create a great deal of stress and anxiety for students, parents, school staff, and the community in general,” police said.
The person responsible for the hoax call could face criminal charges and be forced to foot the bill for the law enforcement response.
A similar incident unfolded in the East Bay. Around 2:15 p.m., authorities received a report that an armed person was at Miramonte High School at 750 Moraga Way in Orinda, according to Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Jimmy Lee.
“Police were able to determine that it was a hoax call and there was no threat at the school,” Lee said in an email. “Still, as a precaution, the school was locked down and cleared by officers, before allowing the school to be released for the day.”
No injuries were reported in either incident.
Authorities on both sides of the Bay are checking to see if the incidents are linked.
Monday’s events follow threats that were emailed to schools in Contra Costa and Alameda counties last Wednesday. The threats, which were deemed non-credible, were tied to a demand that all Russian prisoners be released from U.S. prisons and jails.
Anyone with information related to the Palo Alto case can contact the Palo Alto Police Department at 650-329-2413 or 650-383-8984, and anyone with information related to the Orinda case can contact the Orinda Police Department at 925-253-4217 or 866-846-3592.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.