‘Gunmen’ Hoax Brings Police to Laguna High

A Halloween prank sent police to Laguna Beach High School early Monday in search of what two anonymous callers said were gunmen on campus.

The 8:30 a.m. incident began when an anonymous male phoned school district headquarters to say that six people with guns and an explosive were headed to the campus, police said.

Fifteen minutes later, a girl identifying herself as “Melissa” called the district, claiming that five gunmen had entered a classroom.

By that time police and school officials had locked down the school, and armed officers had ringed the campus.

After the second call, police swept through classrooms and, finding nothing, concluded that the calls were “an elaborate hoax,” said Laguna Beach Unified School District Supt. Theresa Daem.

Students seemed unruffled.

Dylan Sachse, 17, a senior and student body president, said he was reading announcements over the school intercom when Principal Nancy Blade interrupted him to make an emergency announcement.

Blade told students to go to their second-period classrooms and lock the doors, he said. To avoid panic, few other details were given, Daem said.

Sachse, who was dressed like a member of the 1970s disco group the Village People, said he and his friends thought the lockdown was prompted by a student in Halloween garb carrying a toy gun.

Senior Mike Austin, 17, said, “Me and my friends weren’t really scared. But we didn’t know what to expect. They were being vague with us.”

While Laguna Beach police searched the campus, Orange County sheriff’s deputies stood by as backup.

The incident lasted about 30 minutes. When the search ended, Blade and a police officer announced over the intercom that everything was OK. The district later sent an automated phone message to Laguna Beach High parents explaining that the incident had been prompted by a phone call about gunmen that turned out to be a Halloween prank.

“We resumed our normal day, including a costume contest at lunch,” Daem said.

Officials said that two years ago a bomb threat at the high school prompted an evacuation and room-to-room search by police.