Authorities lift Lakeport Unified schools lockdown; threat believed to be hoax
- Elizabeth Larson
- Posted On
LAKEPORT, Calif. – Authorities locked down the Lakeport Unified School District campus on Monday morning in response to a threat that is reported to have been sent to many schools across California and the United States.
The temporary lockdown was in effect for less than an hour and a half and had been lifted by 1 p.m., officials said.
The Lakeport Police Department said that at 11:30 a.m. Monday Lakeport Unified School District Superintendent April Leiferman received an email from an unknown person stating they were coming to the school with three bombs and a .22-caliber handgun and would shoot and kill any staff or student.
The email further read that if any police were seen at the school they would blow up the bombs, Lakeport Police reported.
Authorities said that the district immediately called the Lakeport Police Department and the school was placed in lockdown.
Late Monday morning law enforcement units began staging around the school district, located on Lange Street, as they worked to secure the facility.
In addition to Lakeport Police, other local agencies with units on scene to assist with securing the campus included the California Highway Patrol, the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, Lakeport Fire and Lake County Probation, with city of Lakeport trucks being used to block off roads.
The CHP also sent a plane to fly over the campus in an effort to secure the area.
At around noon, Leiferman posted a message on the school’s Facebook page about the situation.
"The Lakeport Unified School District received an email threatening bodily harm to our students, staff, and law enforcement. We are currently on lockdown until law enforcement can clear us for safety,” Leiferman wrote.
A followup post by Leiferman said, “We have no reports of anyone currently being threatened, adding that law enforcement is checking the schools, and schools entrances are being blocked and monitored.” She added that all classrooms and buildings were to be checked.
At around 12:45 p.m., Leiferman posted, “Law enforcement is continuing to check classrooms and buildings. We do not have any evidence of a threat. We hope to lift the lockdown soon.”
As a precautionary measure, the school remained on lock down as law enforcement conducted a sweep of the campuses, police said.
The lockdown was reported to be lifted at around 1 p.m. It was at that point that parents received an automated phone call informing them that everyone was safe and the lockdown had ended.
Central Dispatch informed the last of the units on scene that they could clear the campus at about 1:10 p.m.
After a search of the campuses, police said they determined there was no evidence of a credible threat.
The Lakeport Police Department reported that, during the course of the investigation, it was discovered that a similar threat was received by numerous schools across the country near or around the same time.
Around the region, the threat had been reportedly sent to schools in Cloverdale, and to the north, the Fortuna Police Department reported that some schools in the school district there were placed on lockdown on Monday after the superintendent received an email at 11:30 a.m. – at the same time that Leiferman had received a similar email – threatening harm to the students.
Fortuna Police worked with the Federal Bureau of Investigation to determine the source of the email.
“We have determined that the email was a hoax and originated in Ukraine. This email went to schools throughout the county,” the agency said in a Facebook post.
There were also reports of school districts from San Diego to Fort Jones at the Oregon border receiving the email threat.
The Lakeport Police Department said it will continue its investigation into “what is believed to be a nationwide hoax” and will be in contact with the FBI.
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