CARLSBAD ― A string of lockdowns at Carlsbad schools during the last academic year left the community on edge, with parents and officials looking for better ways to protect children.
Records reviewed by the Carlsbad Current-Argus show schools were forced to go into at least eight lockdowns.
In four of those cases, authorities determined the threats were unfounded, and in a fifth case it’s unclear what the investigation into a social media post revealed. Two other lockdowns were triggered by disturbances near schools — one in which someone was walking with a BB gun and the other in which a group of people were arguing. Rounding out the list of incidents was a SWAT operation in a neighborhood that sent the nearby school into lockdown.
The newspaper, via the New Mexico Inspection of Public Records Act, examined incident reports and narratives from the Carlsbad Police Department. The cases underscore the growing challenges educators and law enforcement officers face trying to identify real threats as gun violence and mass shootings continue to rise in America.
It’s prompted Carlsbad Municipal Schools officials make changes to safety and security on campuses. They’re also talking about what they can do different to assess threats and prevent attacks.
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School lockdowns in Carlsbad: A timeline
The lockdowns occurred at four schools from August 2022 to May. Here’s a look at what the Current-Argus found on each incident:
May 16 and 18, 2023 lockdowns at Desert Willow Elementary
The most recent lockdowns were called at Desert Willow Elementary School, records show. The reasons listed were “disturbance” in the first incident and a man with a gun two days later.
On May 16, police said a school official reported that a man was observed loading a rifle near the school and then walking toward the building. Police placed Desert Willow on lockdown and secured a perimeter.
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Police stopped a man nearby and said he was walking toward his home carrying an inoperable BB gun. He was arrested on suspicion of disorderly conduct, although court records indicate no charges were filed against him, and the charge was not pursued.
Two days later, again at Desert Willow, police were called by a parent who said her 16-year-old daughter was dropping off the other kids when she saw a man with a gun walking toward the school.
This time, the lockdown took effect as police checked security camera footage. About two hours later officers determined the threat was unfounded, and the school returned to normal operations.
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April 28, 2023 lockdown at Sunset Elementary
About two weeks earlier, police locked down Sunset Elementary during a SWAT operation at a nearby home that’s in the 1400 block of Edward Street.
In that case, police were serving a search warrant to someone with connection to several violent crimes who they said lives at the home and believed to be armed.
A 7-year-old child, who also is known to live there, was dropped off by his mother at school ahead of the mission, police said.
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Police used gas and arrested several people. The school lifted the lockdown about an hour later.
Aug. 30, 2022 and Feb. 28, 2023 lockdowns at Carlsbad High
Carlsbad High School had two lockdowns. The August 2022 incident was prompted after someone alerted police about posts on the social app Yik Yak that indicated a shooting would occur. Police gave no details on that Feb. 28 lockdown.
In the Aug. 30, 2022 case, Carlsbad police were able to track the statements to students that same day. Officers found no credible threats to school safety.
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August 2022 and February 2023 lockdowns at Alta Vista
Three other lockdowns were called at Alta Vista Middle School on Aug. 22 and Aug. 23, 2022 and again on Feb. 21, 2023.
Both of the August 2022 lockdowns were in response to welfare check, records show. The February incident was listed as a “disturbance.”
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Records show in the Aug. 22 incident, a caller reported a student showed her son a gun but said it was left at a bus stop. The Aug. 23 lockdown was in response to a student “bragging about having a gun on the property.”
The Feb. 21 lockdown was called when a group of people were seen arguing in front of the school, and police reportedly observed one of them had a gun.
Police said the people arguing left the scene, and no threat remained for the school.
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See something? Say Something. Students and parents can anonymously submit reports of suspicious activity, bullying and other issues to Carlsbad Municipal Schools by visiting anonymousalerts.com/carlsbadms.
What are Carlsbad school leaders doing about the threats?
That series of incidents and potential threats to students left Carlsbad Municipal Schools retooling some of its security measures and how it identifies threats of violence from students and the community.
This included adding security cameras and designing security vestibules to prevent people from entering school buildings without permission, said Superintendent Gerry Washburn.
Washburn said the district also sought state funding to hire five additional school resource officers. SROs are sworn police officers who are assigned to keep school grounds safe.
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There are two SROs for the entire district, he said, and each position requires $125,000 to fund.
Despite many threats deemed unfounded in the last year, officials continued to take them seriously, Washburn said, amid the proliferation of social media giving a higher platform to gossip and rumors.
“It’s the equivalent of yelling fire in a theater. You just scare everyone,” Washburn said. “People have a right to be concerned. Terrible things have happened. Everything this year has been driven by social media.”
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Carlsbad Police Cpl. Tony Baca said the authorities can respond in two different ways when facing an active school threat.
For threats active on school property, police will institute a lockdown, closing the school off from outside access and calling for people to find a safe place to barricade.
They can also call for a shelter-in-place, Baca said, when there is police activity nearby. These operations allow people to move throughout the building but restrict them from leaving campus.
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Police also follow up on threats that include notes in the bathroom or statements made by students, investigating and hoping to debunk the threats as unfounded.
“They’re almost all hoaxes,” Washburn said. “We have to take every one of them as if they’re real. No one wants to be the group that said it’s not a big deal, and then something terrible happens. We just need cooperation from the public to not share things far and wide.”
But when a specific student might be in danger of bringing violence to a Carlsbad school, police plan to use a new form of threat assessment next year, examining students psychologically to determine if a true threat exists.
Baca said it will include interviewing witnesses and the student in question. Police will also evaluate a student’s home and academic situation and provide counseling to prevent a situation from escalating.
Officers look for a combination of severe mental trauma and access to firearms when determining a high risk, he said.
“We look at the facts,” Baca said. “We look at the totality of the situation. It’s the right way to do it.”
Lt. Andrew Swanson said it is important law enforcement and school district officials work hand-in-hand to find and neutralize threats before they become tragic.
“It’s not just a P.D. issue,” he said. “The onus is not just on the schools. It’s multi-faceted. It’s a group effort.”
Swanson said police operate under and assumption that an incident could occur on school grounds.
He said since a mass shooting at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas left 21 dead and 18 injured in May 2022, officers throughout the nation should be at the ready following this deadliest shooting in the state’s history.
“It’s not if, it’s when,” Swanson said. “We treat every one of these threats as the real deal.”
Washburn said the district’s goal to keep kids safe is unchanged but evolved, with more tools being put in place to prevent a tragedy like that coming to Carlsbad.
“I’ve always believed schools are the safest place for kids to be and I believe that with all my heart,” he said. “People that want a 100 percent guarantee, I can’t give them a 100 percent guarantee, but I can give them the closest thing there is to that.”
Adrian Heddencan be reached at 575-628-5516,achedden@currentargus.com or@AdrianHedden on Twitter.
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