Sacramento-area school shelters in place after ‘suspicious’ call, second lockdown in 2 days
Students and staff at San Juan High School in Citrus Heights were told to shelter in place for more than an hour Tuesday due to a “suspicious phone call” reporting an explosive device on campus, school district officials said.
A search by police found no device, and the shelter order was lifted Tuesday afternoon.
“San Juan High School is currently in a precautionary shelter-in-place as staff responds to a suspicious phone call received,” San Juan Unified School District said in a message to its website and social media post shortly before noon. “To protect safety of all those involved, please do not come to the campus at this time.”
Citrus Heights police were responding to a call reporting “a possible explosive device on campus,” district spokeswoman Raj Rai said. The shelter order started shortly before 10:45 a.m.
The Citrus Heights Police Department in a tweet shortly after noon said officers were at the school “out of an abundance of caution.” In an update just before 12:30 p.m. the department said “extensive searches” turned up nothing suspicious at the campus, and that school would resume as scheduled shortly.
“It’s a possibility this is a hoax,” police spokesman Lt. Wesley Herman said shortly before the shelter order was lifted.
The shelter order at San Juan High School came one day after Del Campo High School was placed on lockdown due to reports of a student with a gun. The lockdown was lifted after a search, with no suspect identified or in custody and no gun located, according to the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office.
“It is unknown at this time if this is related to yesterday’s incident at Del Campo,” Rai said.
Monday’s lockdown at Del Campo High incident prompted shelter-in-place orders for three nearby elementary and middle schools in Carmichael and Fair Oaks, as precautions.
The five total campuses put in lockdown or shelter orders Monday and Tuesday incidents are part of San Juan Unified School District, which serves eastern Sacramento County.
This story was originally published December 13, 2022 at 12:09 PM.
