On Tuesday afternoon, a Veteran Affairs office received a call on their crisis line from a man who claimed to be in a bathroom at Alameda High School with a rifle. Veteran Affairs immediately contacted the Alameda Police Department and Alameda High School, who in turn also contacted Alameda PD and then AUSD District staff.

In these situations, our schools first secure students and staff through protocols such as a shelter in place or lockdown and notify law enforcement. They also notify the District Office, who sends staff to support to the site to help, centrally manages logistics and communications, and monitors security cameras to help the investigation.

APD arrived at AHS around 3:20 pm and did a thorough sweep of the campus. Students were dismissed at 3:50 pm. All students and staff were safe throughout the investigation.
 
We currently believe this was a “swatting” incident, in which someone makes a false emergency call in an effort to get a police SWAT team to respond. Multiple school districts across the country have received a similar call this week. Nevertheless, we take every threat seriously and will always follow safety protocols in these situations.

We want to emphasize that we know these types of incidents can be deeply concerning to all involved, and that we regularly conduct drills so that students and staff can practice their response to them. We'd also like to thank AHS students and staff for quickly complying with the shelter in place directions today and the Alameda Police Department for their very swift and thorough response.