Parents wait in line at Hubert H. Bancroft Middle School to pick up students after police and school officials put the school on lockdown on Monday, Jan. 14 following a report of an armed man seen on campus
Staff Writer
The report of a man carrying a gun on the campus of Hubert H. Bancroft Middle School in Long Beach that prompted a brief lockdown at the school on Monday, Jan. 14 was erroneous, according to a statement released by the Long Beach Police Department (LBPD) the day after the incident.
Through a follow-up investigation, it was determined that “a gun was never actually seen on campus,” said Long Beach Police spokesperson Nancy Pratt in a statement. Detectives were later able to identify the male subject in question as a 19-year-old former student, who was interviewed by police. It was determined that he had been on school grounds to visit former teachers, Pratt said.
On Monday, the middle school was put on a more than two-hour lockdown after Long Beach police officers received a report at approximately 11:30am of an armed, “unauthorized person” at the campus. Long Beach Police Sgt. Aaron Eaton said that a student first reported the account to school staff.
Long Beach Unified School Safety Officer Okabe (far right) releases students to parents waiting at the entrance of Hubert H. Bancroft Middle School that was put on lockdown after a report of an armed, “unauthorized person
Police searched the entire school campus and Pan Am Park located across the street, but no suspect was found at that time. The lockdown was lifted at about 1:45pm, after which time many students were released since hundreds of parents, some who appeared distraught, arrived at the campus to pick up their children.
Some students said they were frightened by the ordeal, especially after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Conn. on Dec. 14.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been that scared in my life,” said Jacob Smith, a 12-year-old 7th-grader who added that, while hearing a chopper overhead and seeing police checking the classroom with guns in their hands, he “wasn’t sure what was happening.”
The brief lockdown comes as security and police presence at school districts have received national attention.
“We are all certainly more vigilant in light of the Connecticut shooting,” said Chris Eftychiou, spokesperson for the Long Beach Unified School District (LBUSD). “Though, just as before that shooting, we fully deploy our 25 armed personnel in and around schools every day, including 15 School Safety officers, plus four supervisors and the chief, including the five LBPD officers at our large high schools.”
Hundreds of parents wait outside of Hubert H. Bancroft Middle School on Monday, Jan. 14 to pick up their children after a report of an armed, “unauthorized person
In Long Beach, high schools are staffed with armed police officers, middle schools have campus security officers and elementary-school staff members are trained to contact School Safety or dial 911 if appropriate.
LBUSD School Safety officers and Long Beach Police Youth Services officers patrol throughout the district and can respond rapidly in case of emergency, according to a statement from the school district. LBUSD also works with the LBPD on Operation Safe Passage, which allocates additional police officers to the neighborhood surrounding campuses before school and after school.
