Del Norte High School, Bess Maxwell Elementary, Castle Rock Charter, and Del Norte Community School were placed on lockdown out of an abundance of caution Tuesday morning, January 7th, after a report of an individual with a firearm near the College of the Redwoods, off-school grounds.
No evidence of an armed individual was found on or near any school campuses after law enforcement patrolled and cleared the area and the lockdown at Del Norte High School, Bess Maxwell Elementary, Castle Rock Charter, and Del Norte Community School was lifted, and normal school operations had resumed just before 12:30pm
Out of an abundance of caution, some of these schools were placed on lockdown following an unsubstantiated report of an armed individual near the College of the Redwoods, off school grounds. Law enforcement responded immediately, cleared the area, confirmed there was no threat, and deemed the reports not credible after investigating the facts.
In an effort to explain questions raised as to why families were not notified during this false alarm, “the situation developed and resolved very quickly,” a statement from the Del Norte Unified School District explained. “By the time the initial notification about the lockdown was ready to be sent,” the statement continued, “law enforcement had already cleared the area and confirmed it was safe to lift the lockdown, as well as deeming the incident not credible.
We did not want to induce unnecessary confusion or chaos since the situation had been quickly resolved, and students were safe.
Please know that families will be notified immediately in the event of an actual emergency. The health and safety of our students and staff is our top priority.”
