HEMET: 911 calls force temporary lock downs at three schools

HEMET – Several Hemet area schools were placed on temporary lock down today, after law enforcement officers received “911 calls” in connection with one of the schools, Monday, May 8. Officials lifted the lock downs just after 1:20 p.m., according to a school district official. There were no reported injuries or incidents related to the short lock down.

The incident began when faculty members from Tahquitz High School “were informed by law enforcement that 911 calls were made in connection with the school,” Hemet Unified School District spokeswoman Alexandrea Cass said in a phone interview.

SEE RELATED: “Shelter-In-Place” vs “Lock Down” at my child’s school…what is the difference?

After Tahquitz High School went on lock down, “Rancho Viejo Middle School and Cawston Elementary staff wanted to err on the side of caution and went on a temporary lock down (as well),” Cass explained.

During the lock downs – as the Riverside County Sheriff’s aviation crew circled overhead in the department’s helicopter “Star-9” and officials could be seen in the area of Tahquitz High School – parents of students from the three affected schools began calling the schools and school district for information.

Many parents and Hemet residents took to social media discussing police activity seen in and around the schools.

Rumors about a reported shooting at one of the schools sent some parents rushing to one of the three schools; however, the rumors and exaggerated reports of police activity were quickly unfounded and determined to be false.

Officials eventually gave the “all-clear signal” for Taquitz High School to lift their lock down, at which time Rancho Viejo Middle and Cawston Elementary Schools lifted their lock downs as well.

“The lockdown at Tahquitz was lifted at 1:22,” Cass explained. “Rancho Viejo and Cawston immediately followed.”

After the lock downs, the affected schools returned to “regular business,” according to Cass, who was not able to immediately verify what time the time the lock down call came in from law enforcement officials.

Calls to the Riverside County Sheriff’s and Hemet Police Departments for further information about the nature of the 911 calls that triggered the lock downs were not immediately returned.

This is a developing story. Additional information will be updated as it becomes available.

 

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Trevor Montgomery runs Riverside County News Source and Shasta County News Source. Additionally, he writes for Riverside County based newspapers, Valley News and Anza Valley Outlook and also writes for Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County.

Trevor spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg and breaking his back in an off-duty accident.

During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations, including Robert Presley Detention Center, Southwest Station in Temecula, Hemet/Valle Vista Station, Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center and Lake Elsinore Station, along with other locations.