Threats of bombings and violence prompt lockdowns at 11 San Diego high schools

A rash of threats phoned in to San Diego high schools Thursday kept more than 21,000 students in locked-down classrooms as police systematically swept 11 campuses but found no suspicious devices or people.

Over a two-hour period starting at 9:15 a.m., callers threatened shootings, bombings and other unspecified violence at campuses stretching from San Ysidro to Mira Mesa.

Some students spent up to 45 minutes crouched under desks, with windows and doors secured, while teams of police officers, some with dogs, searched school rooms, campus grounds and immediate neighborhoods. Strict lockdowns were then eased, but students at several schools remained indoors past noon while anxious parents waited outside.

“Our first priority is to keep our kids safe,” San Diego Unified School District spokeswoman Linda Zintz said. “Although it did disrupt some classroom learning, we are happy to report that everybody is safe.”

Authorities did not say whether the threats were believed to have been made by a single person or group, or what the motive may have been.

“You’re typically dealing with someone who is looking to disrupt the normal flow, looking for a little bit of a thrill,” said Mo Canady, executive director of the National Assn. of School Resource Officers, which offers training for schools and law enforcement.

“I’m not aware of a modern-day case of someone calling the school announcing a threat and there actually being a threat or a device,” Canady said. “At the same time, you have to take it seriously. The last thing you want is to gloss over something like that and have something bad happen.”

pauline.repard@sduniontribune.com

karen.kucher@sduniontribune.com

Pauline Repard and Karen Kucher write for the San Diego Union-Tribune.