Mission Bay High School was placed on a nearly 1-hour lockdown Friday while school police investigated reports of a weapon on campus.
San Diego Unified School District spokesperson Marisa Berumen confirmed the lockdown began around 9:45 a.m. At approximately 10:40 a.m., the lockdown had been lifted.
No weapon was discovered at the school but, out of an abundance of caution, SDUSD said school officers would stay on campus for the remainder of the day.
Students could be seen walking around the campus located at 2475 Grand Ave. Some students were being picked up by their parents at the school's entrance.
Sophomore De’Vaun Williams was being picked up from school by his grandfather when he spoke with NBC 7 about the lockdown.
Williams said he was in class when the principal, vice principal, and a security guard walked in.
“They said, ‘We just received a call that there’s a gun in your class,’” Williams said. “And then they started checking our backpacks.”
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Williams said students were told the lockdown would remain in effect for a bit longer. He said about eight school officers came into his classroom and continued checking backpacks and patting down students. Williams said the students were then moved to another room while officers searched the classroom.
Williams said the process took about an hour. In the meantime, he said some students were worried.
“People were freaking out, calling their parents,” he recounted.
Williams said he tried his best to keep calm, telling his peers not to worry because the officers hadn’t actually found anything in the classroom. Still, the teen said just hearing there may have been a weapon on campus gave him a sinking feeling.
“It makes you scared because you think about the people that love you – the people that are going to worry about you, worry about your safety,” he told NBC 7. “It’s very frightening; you don’t want to think about the worst scenario, but you really do. It’s tough.”
MBHS student Lexie Senk was in P.E. class when she heard an alarm go off. She said students thought it was a fire drill.
Lexie Senk said her teacher ushered students into a nearby exercise and weight room where they waited, on lockdown, for about an hour-and-a-half.
“I was scared, but I wasn’t nervous,” Lexie Senk told NBC 7. “It just didn’t feel real, I guess.”
The student was picked up early from school by her father, Tom Senk, who said he was surprised and concerned to hear about the lockdown. He rushed to pick up his daughter and make sure she was okay.
“I’d rather be safe than sorry,” Tom Senk said.
The father said the school handled the situation appropriately and swiftly but hopes nothing like this ever happens again.
The district has not yet released details about how or where the reports of a weapon at the school originated.
