Santa Cruz Police and school officials believe that a threat of a shooting at Santa Cruz High School is false, and there have been no reports of anyone injured.
SCPD Chief Bernie Escalante said at an early afternoon press conference that a call reporting “an active shooter in a classroom with multiple shots with multiple victims” was unfounded.
“Up to this point, we have not found any signs of an active shooter, or any injuries on the campus,” he said.
But law enforcement officials are clearing the school, and parents will be able to pick their kids up at a reunification center at Depot Park as police complete their search.
Parent Andrea Parker said her ninth-grader, who was already worried about the growing instances of school violence, texted her right away to say he was OK.
Still, while driving to a designated meeting spot, she heard a report on the radio that there was a man with a gun and someone was injured
“It was really terrifying,” she said.
In an email to parents, Santa Cruz City Schools Superintendent Kris Munro said that the anonymous threat to the school named a classroom that does not exist, and there have been no incidents of violence at any SCCS campus.
“While we are cooperating with police as they investigate an anonymous report of an active shooter, there is currently no confirmation of a shooter today,” Munro wrote. “We are cooperating with police as they follow full protocols to ensure students safety.”
All SCCS schools have been locked down “out of an abundance of caution,” Munro said.
More than 100 law enforcement officials from Santa Cruz and Scotts Valley police departments, along with California Highway Patrol and Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office responded to the incident.
Escalante said that air support was dispatched within five minutes, with helicopters and a plane continuing to circle the school, while police used a drone to look into windows of every classroom.
This is a developing story. It will be updated.
Vote against the NRA and their Russian backers! This nation is off the rails with gun violence. While we are so lucky this was only a hoax, so many of us went to the school after our kids texted us that there was “active shooter” in the school, and that “six people had been shot.” Sadly, this is reality in so many schools and in other public arenas across the nation on a daily basis. It is horrifying and absurd. Vote Blue.