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Student with BB gun taken into custody after Lower Lake schools put in lockdown
LOWER LAKE, Calif. – Authorities placed Lower Lake schools in temporary lockdown on Thursday morning on the report of a student with a firearm, with a male student later taken into custody off school grounds with a BB gun in his possession.
Lake County Sheriff's deputies and Clearlake Police officers responded to the report, which first came in at 8:15 a.m. Thursday, the two agencies said in separate reports.
Officer Bobi Oakley, the Clearlake Police Department school resource officer, received a cellular phone call from an employee of the Konocti Education Center telling her that they had received second-hand information that a male juvenile on bus No. 6 was in possession of a firearm, according to a report from Sgt. Travis Lenz.
Lenz said the only description of the subject provided at that time was that he was a white male, wearing a red hat and having red facial hair.
The school employee was unaware at that time what school the subject went to after exiting the school bus, but believed it to be Lower Lake High School, Lenz said.
Clearlake Police officers responded with lights and sirens to Lower Lake High School at that time, while maintaining contact with members of the schools in the area to obtain additional information, according to Lenz.
While responding, Officer Oakley received a cellular phone call from an employee at Carlé Continuation High School in Lower Lake, Lenz said, advising they had a male subject who fit the description on the school grounds in one of the classrooms.
Clearlake Police Department dispatch contacted the Lake County Sheriff's Office at that time and requested their response to assist in this investigation, Lenz said.
Once officers arrived at Carlé High School, they responded to the classroom of the juvenile that matched the description. Lenz said sheriff's deputies arrived on scene and assisted the Clearlake Police with safely removing all the children from the classroom.
Once all the children were in a safe location, officers removed the juvenile subject who matched description and, after speaking with him, Lenz said it was determined he was not the responsible subject.
Within seconds of determining that he was not the subject, Officer Oakley received information from an employee of the Lower Lake High school which aided in the identification of the correct individual. Lenz said it was determined that the student had exited the school bus and was possibly walking to Ray's Food Place in Clearlake.
Clearlake Police officers and sheriff's deputies stood by at all the schools in the area while additional units from the Clearlake Police Department responded to the area of Ray's Food Place to attempt to locate the student, Lenz said. In addition, all schools in the area of Lower Lake were put on lockdown for precautionary reasons.
While checking the area of Ray's Food Place, Lenz said he located the juvenile seated at the store's bus stop and detained him.
The subject was identified as a 17-year-old Clearlake resident. Lenz said the juvenile was found in possession of a carbon dioxide-powered BB gun pistol, which upon first glance could be easily confused with a real firearm.
Lenz said the student was placed under arrest at that time and later turned over to the custody of Lake County Juvenile Probation on charges of possession of a BB gun on school grounds and possession of an instrument which has the capabilities of projecting a metallic instrument.
Authorities said the lockdown was raised at approximately 9:10 a.m.
The Clearlake Police Department thanked the Lake County Sheriff's Office for its assistance in this investigation.