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Two different people called the central office. Palo Alto Police Monday afternoon to report that they had seen a person with a rifle walking toward Gunn Middle School, while the school simultaneously received a bomb threat. Investigators determined the calls were hoaxes and are actively working to identify the suspects.
On Monday, April 22, at approximately 1:51 p.m., the Palo Alto Police Department received a call from a man who said he had just seen a teenager walking toward Gunn High School at 780 Arastradero Road with a rifle strapped to his back and carrying two pipe bombs, authorities reported.
In a statement, the police said a second caller said he saw a man in his twenties wearing a bulletproof vest walking toward the school and carrying a rifle.
Both callers provided information that led police to believe the calls were possibly hoaxes, but officers responded to the school immediately and treated the incident from the beginning as if the calls were legitimate.
At approximately 1:53 p.m., school administrators at Gunn High School received a phone call from a man who said he was heading to the school with a bomb. That person identified himself with a name and date of birth that did not appear to correspond to a real person.
Police said they worked closely with school administrators and other school district officials to place the campus on shelter-in-place status while officers conducted their investigation.
Out of an abundance of caution, school district officials opted to place Fletcher Middle School at 655 Arastradero Road on a similar status because of its proximity to Gunn Middle School.
Authorities stressed that after a thorough review of surveillance camera footage and an exhaustive search of the campus, there was no evidence of any real threat.
Police and school administrators lifted the shelter-in-place order around 3:40 p.m., ten minutes before the normal end of the school day.
School district officials opted to lift the shelter-in-place at Fletcher Middle School earlier in the afternoon at the conclusion of their regular school day; no evidence of any threat directed at that school was ever provided.
Detectives stated that they are actively working on this case to identify the people who made the calls. They added that it is unknown at this time if the calls were made by the same person.
Hoax threats and false emergency reports are not only criminal in nature, but also create a great deal of stress and anxiety for students, parents, school staff and the community at large, they argued.
They said that anyone found responsible for such fake calls could face criminal charges, as well as possible civil liability as a cost recovery measure for the authorities' response.
Detectives are also working to see if this incident may be related to a similar incident reported earlier Monday at a high school in Orinda.
The Palo Alto Police Department is asking anyone with information about this incident to call (650) 329-2413. Anonymous tips can be submitted via email to paloalto@tipnow.org or by text or voicemail to (650) 383-8984.
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