Schools in Silver Lake, O.C., Northridge close amid threats

A Silver Lake elementary school was put on lockdown early Tuesday after a person dialed 911 and said armed gunmen were at the school -- the third such call from the same number in recent weeks, police said.

“Operators get the call, they try to call back…and the number is disconnected,” said Los Angeles police spokeswoman Liliana Preciado.

The call Tuesday came in about 8:10 a.m., with the person on the other end saying that gunmen were at Allesandro Elementary School on Riverside Drive, police said.

Aerial television news footage of the police response showed LAPD officers patrolling the school’s perimeter as others walked around the campus. The threat was cleared at the school a short time later.

At least two other “prank” calls in recent weeks have come from the same phone number, Preciado said.

She noted that a cellphone by law must be able to call 911 even its owner is past-due on paying the bill and the line has been disconnected. She said it’s unclear if that’s why the phone in this case was disconnected.

Other campuses across the Southland were also either locked down or temporarily closed after officials received threats either by phone or email.

A private school in south Orange County was closed for Tuesday and Wednesday after authorities learned of an emailed threat to the campus. Authorities declined to describe the nature of the threat to St. Mary’s School in Aliso Viejo but said they are investigating the source and its veracity.

And Northridge Academy High School was locked down as authorities investigated an unattended package.

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