Lockdowns at two Elk Grove schools again; this time for a possible weapon on campus
Authorities in Elk Grove on Friday morning placed a lockdown at Cosumnes Oaks High School and neighboring Elizabeth Pinkerton Middle School for the second time this week.
A report of a possible weapon on the Cosumnes Oaks High campus prompted the lockdown shortly after 10 a.m. Friday, Elk Grove Unified School District spokeswoman Xanthi Soriano told The Sacramento Bee. The Elizabeth Pinkerton campus was placed on lockdown because of its proximity to the high school.
Soriano said all students were safe at both campuses, and the situation was stable. She said school district security staff secured both schools as law enforcement officials responded to investigate the reported weapon.
School staffers notified parents and planned to provide updates, Soriano said.
Soriano said administrators urged parents not to come to campus during the lockdown, “because it could impede emergency services. It’s not easy, but it’s in the best interest of the students.”
After an investigation and search of Cosumnes Oaks High, authorities did not find any weapons on campus, school district officials announced in a news release Friday afternoon. Authorities lifted the lockdown and gave an all clear at 12:10 p.m., according to the school district.
“The District and school officials thank all students, staff and parents for their immediate compliance, cooperation and patience during the investigation,” district officials said in the news release. “The safety of students and staff is a top priority at every EGUSD school.”
The Elk Grove Police Department announced Friday morning on Twitter that officers were aware of the precautionary lockdown at Cosumnes Oaks High, and Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office deputies, who provide police services for the school, were at the campus investigating. The Police Department said two officers assigned to the school district were asked to respond to the incident.
On Monday, sheriff’s deputies were stationed outside both schools following a social media post, threatening violence at the Elk Grove campuses, that was later debunked. The threat posted Sunday on Snapchat stated that students would meet in the parking lot of the high school campus and bring guns to school, and it appeared to protest COVID-19 mask and vaccine requirements.
That was followed by a series of Sacramento-area school lockdowns this week in response to anonymous calls and threatening posts on social media that put schools across the country on high alert.
River City High in West Sacramento was locked down twice in two days following two anonymous calls claiming there was a shooting threat to the campus. Students there were sent home early Wednesday afternoon, and a lockdown Thursday was lifted later that morning. Both threatening calls were unsubstantiated, school district officials said.
Jesuit High School in Carmichael was placed on lockdown Wednesday in response to a social media post or posts threatening violence at “JHS” or “IHS” that went viral online. Jesuit High administrators did not believe there was a specific threat. The campus remained open with added patrols from the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office.
The high school in Sacramento County along with high schools starting with those letters across the country were on high alert.
In Placer County, Lincoln High School officials were aware of two Snapchat posts threatening school violence Thursday. The Lincoln Police Department said there were “no known threats to the safety of students nor staff” at the city’s two high schools, Lincoln High and Twelve Bridges.
The threats on social media prompted the Yuba County Sheriff’s Department to increase patrols near Lindhurst High School in Olivehurst as a precaution, according to the Marysville Joint Unified School District.
Sheriff’s officials said the “threats were deemed not credible locally and apparently the messages were circulated nationwide and originated from an incident in Florida.”
This story was originally published October 29, 2021 at 11:57 AM.
