Three Coronado school campuses were placed on lockdown today and a Coronado High School student was arrested after school administrators reported a “vague threat of violence,” according to the Coronado Police Department.
The text messages started coming in around 2pm: frantic messages from Coronado High School students to their parents, saying there could be a shooter on campus and the school was on lockdown. While some students hid underneath desks inside classrooms with their peers, others ran off campus and gathered on street corners away from the school.
About 15 minutes later, parents got a message alerting them that, in abundance of caution in response to an unsubstantiated threat, Coronado High School, Coronado Middle School, and Village Elementary school were on lockdown.
While parents gathered at various school sites waiting for their children, the Coronado Police Department found the student in question about a block from campus. They conducted a search, found no weapons, took the student to the police department for questioning.
“We detained a 15-year-old student from the high school,” said Lieutenant Anthony Flores with the CPD. “No weapons were found.”
Authorities lifted the lockdowns at Village Elementary School and Coronado Middle School, but asked the students at CHS to stay put while police officers conducted a sweep of the school with K-9 units.
“We wanted to make sure the campus was secure, and once we released the students there are no other threats, whether that’s weapons, or improvised explosives,” said Flores.
Finally, around 3:15, the CHS lockdown was lifted.
Flores said the matter would now be turned over to the department’s investigation unit.
“The detectives will review statements from all parties involved and interview the student and family members,” said Flores. “They’ll determine the validity of this kind of threat, whether there is access to weapons and then they will make a determination as to what criminal charges will be appropriate in this case.”
Coronado High School Principal Karin Mellina sent out an email Thursday evening expressing gratitude for the cooperation and resilience demonstrated by students and community.
“I’m incredibly proud of how our students responded,” wrote Mellina. “They followed instructions, remained calm, and showed remarkable maturity in a challenging situation. The CHS faculty and staff also acted swiftly and effectively, ensuring a safe and secure environment for everyone.”
Later that evening, Coronado High School student Dylan Matter said it was a scary day for everyone.
“I’m really proud of my fellow students for calling and checking in with each other during this time,” he said. “I’m glad everyone worked together, and I hope something like this never happens again.”
According to Flores, the situation was dynamic and went as well as they could have hoped for.
“All of the systems that have been put in place to address these kinds of instances worked exactly how we had hoped,” said Flores. “The students that were alerted to this possible threat reported it just like they were encouraged to, and administrators notified law enforcement quickly.”
