Three face charges in gun scare lockdown

GLENDALE — The 13-year-old boy accused of carrying an airsoft gun to Toll Middle School Friday, causing a lockdown at that campus and two nearby schools, will be arraigned on charges that are expected to be filed by the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office today, authorities said.

The boy, a seventh-grade student at Toll Middle School, will likely face charges related to bringing a device onto school grounds capable of shooting a projectile, police said.

Airsoft guns are spring- or gas-powered, exact-scale models of real firearms and fire nonmetallic pellets.

Reports of a student on campus with a handgun spurred a nearly two-hour, three-campus lockdown that saw Glendale SWAT officers combing through Keppel Elementary, Toll Middle and Hoover High schools in search of the boy.

Police established a perimeter around the area as hundreds of parents showed up seeking information while a police helicopter hovered overhead.

The boy was reportedly found inside a room at Toll Middle School, Glendale Police Sgt. Tom Lorenz said. Police declined to say which room.

Two other boys, also students at Toll, were arrested Friday afternoon after the lockdown was lifted for reportedly obstructing a police investigation and for giving false statements to police, Glendale Police Sgt. Tom Lorenz said.

They were taken to the Glendale Police Station and released later that evening to their guardians with orders to appear in court if, and when, charges are filed against them, Lorenz said.

Authorities would not confirm the boys’ ages or how they were affiliated with the boy accused with bringing the gun, although the arrests stemmed from “their involvement with this particular airsoft gun,” Lorenz said.

But school officials said a preliminary investigation revealed that the boy now in custody actually brought the gun to Toll on Thursday, but gave it to one of the two other boys, who then tucked it into his waistband while on the campus Friday.

Somehow, students saw the gun and reported it to school staff, which initiated the lockdown as administrators attempted to control the situation, said Toll Middle School Principal Jan Canfield.

The case against all three boys was being reviewed by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Pasadena Juvenile Office Monday as attorney’s decided how to proceed with the case, Deputy Dist. Atty. Marian Thompson said.

The 13-year-old boy was being held at Eastlake Juvenile Hall in Los Angeles, Lorenz said.

All three boys have been put on five-day school suspensions while district officials and campus administrators decide on their punishments, which could include expulsion.

Series of events

The decision to put Toll Middle School on lockdown came as school administrators assessed the threat level of the reported gun sighting by students, Canfield said.

A lockdown was ordered before fifth period ended at 1:50 p.m. because school staff did not want a class transfer to jeopardize their search of lockers or the safety of students walking in the open, Canfield said.

“We erred on safety-first for our students,” she said.

Canfield described her role during the initial period of the lockdown as that of an “air traffic controller,” as her office ensured the needs of students with health issues were met and that the campus was kept abreast with periodic updates over the public announcement system.

“It’s a very complicated situation,” she said.

All administrators had to go on were initial reports of a student with some sort of handgun, Lorenz said.

Keppel Elementary and Hoover High soon followed suit due to their proximity to Toll, he said. Keppel is adjacent to Toll while Hoover is across the street from the two on the 600 and 700 blocks of Glenwood Road.

Glendale Police SWAT and K-9 teams descended upon all three campuses in search of the boy as they sifted through a flurry of rumors that grew out of students text messaging each other and their parents via their cellphones.

Police blocked off the streets surrounding the three schools during the lockdowns that affected more than 3,600 students. Glendale Unified School District officials were on hand providing updates to parents who had lined the perimeter seeking information as the lockdowns continued past when classes were to be let out for the day.

“We were very amazed with the patience of the parents and their willingness to cooperate,” Lorenz said.

The aftermath

A community debriefing held at Toll Middle School Monday morning among Glendale Police, parents, teachers, staff and school district officials gave major players the opportunity to review Friday’s events unburdened by student injuries or casualties as a result of the incident.

The overall tone was described by Canfield as a “very serious, powerful conversation” that was devoted mostly to communications, particularly students using their cellphones to text message or call their friends and parents during the lockdown, she said.

“It kind of exaggerated the situation,” she said.

Witnesses’ reports from near the scene of the lockdowns Friday ranged from a student wielding a gun in retribution for being sent home, to a possible hostage situation — all fueled by text messages received from students locked inside their classrooms.

None of the rumors were true, but police had to treat them as if they might be upon arrival, putting a drain on resources and manpower, Lorenz said.

Suggestions to curb the rumor mill ranged from banning cellphone use outright during lockdowns to designating a certain time period during the lockdown — when officials have ahold of the situation — to text or call their parents, Canfield said.

“It was a lot of reflective conversation,” she said.

The incident also put a spotlight on the Police Department’s rapid response abilities as images of Glendale SWAT team members combing the three campuses were broadcast on local television news stations.

Those same images recalled an almost identical Glendale SWAT team exercise last week at Daily High School.

The lockdowns on Friday refreshed the focus on student safety measures that has been prevalent nationwide following the shooting massacre at Virginia Tech University in April and came just weeks after Glendale Unified School Board President Greg Krikorian asked the City Council to review campus safety plans.

“Certainly, since Virginia Tech, it has come to the forefront,” Lorenz said.

Each school has its own emergency plan, but almost all follow nearly identical lockdown procedures. These involve locking the classroom doors, closing window blinds and turning off the lights while students huddle in silence and await instructions.

Ten years ago, Glendale Police were among the first statewide to undergo rapid-response training for an active shooter, Lorenz said.

All officers went through updated response training seven months ago, he added.

Additionally, Glendale Police and school district officials will soon review a list of suggested campus safety improvements submitted by school resource officers stationed at all middle and high schools, Glendale Police Sgt. Oscar Rodriguez said.