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NEWARK — Newark Memorial High School was locked down for more than three hours Wednesday after a teenage boy was arrested near campus carrying a loaded handgun, police said.
The boy — identified later as a 16-year-old Union City resident who is not enrolled at Newark Memorial — was immediately arrested, and three others were detained. However, a group of as many as four other teenagers scattered toward the campus, police said.
Because the arrested boy was carrying a loaded gun, and the fleeing teens headed toward the school, police worked with the Newark Unified School District to lock down the campus about 11:40 a.m. It continued until just after 3 p.m. when authorities began releasing
students to their parents."This was done as a precautionary measure," said police Cmdr. Bob Douglas, later adding that no suspects were found on campus during the subsequent search.
Students were ordered to stay in place, and shortly thereafter, school officials sent a recorded message to hundreds of parents alerting them of the situation, Interim Principal Michael Hermosillo said.
On campus, students were told not to call or send text messages to friends or parents out of fear that rumors would begin spreading, Douglas said. This message was reiterated several times over a public address system at the school.
Within an hour of the start of the lockdown, hundreds of parents began flocking to the campus, gathering in
Similar rumors were exchanged among students, freshman Bijan Mehdiyoun wrote in an e-mail to a reporter during the lockdown. He was in French class in the 400 building when the lockdown was enacted.
"Rumors are that a cooking class in the 400 building was taken hostage," he wrote. "Another one is that bullet holes are in most of the school walls."
Police reiterated several times that no such things had happened.
"There are no hostages. There has not been a shooting. No one has been hurt," Douglas said during one of several meetings with a growing group of parents.
As members of the Newark, Fremont and Union City police SWAT teams began searching the school and sending students to the gymnasium, at least one person was treated by firefighters, possibly for shortness of breath or other medical issues. About 3 p.m., a group of firefighter-paramedics was escorted into the gymnasium to treat two students with diabetes.
Alex Ramos, one of the parents who gathered near the school, said he'd been communicating with his 10th-grade daughter, Brianna, through text messages. His daughter said in a text message that they had been ordered to turn off the lights in their classrooms and stay close to the ground.
Parent Tony Labarga said he tried to contact his 11th-grade daughter, Vanessa, by phone but it was turned off, which made him worry initially. He later got text messages from his daughter's friend, a student on campus.
"She's fine," he said.
Other parents expressed frustration by yelling at officers for constant updates, and saying that they were not being told the whole story.
Shortly after one update, an armored SWAT vehicle rolled down Cedar Boulevard and entered the school grounds, further fueling parents' rage.
"How can they tell us to be calm when you see that," Labarga said.
Principal Hermosillo said he understands that parents can get frustrated, especially when their children's safety is at hand.
"I understand they are concerned about their child," he said of the frustrated parents. "But we are concerned about all of the children."
The lockdown began about 11:40 a.m., some 20 minutes after Officer Tony Heckman and rookie Officer Eric Kelly responded to a condominium complex just south of the school to conduct a patrol check, police said.
In recent weeks, authorities had been getting reports of teenagers milling about the area near the complex during school hours, Douglas said.
When Heckman and Kelly arrived Wednesday, a group of teens scattered.
They stopped the boy with the gun, and with the help of other officers — including Pat Williams and Richard Lopez — detained three others for running from police.
About an hour later, police detained four other teenagers at gunpoint, but it was not clear if they were arrested.
Reach Ben Aguirre Jr. at 510-353-7011. Follow him on twitter at www.twitter.com/benaguirrejr.
