Santa Fe Middle School Lockdown - MPD Responds Strategically

A Monrovia middle school was on lockdown Monday afternoon after a man called police and said he was on campus with a firearm, authorities said.

Parents wait for word of their children outside Santa Fe Middle School on Monday. (credit: Mariam Yaralyan)

A male caller phoned the Monrovia Police Department at about 2 p.m., saying he was on the campus of Santa Fe Middle School with an AK-47 assault rifle, Lt. Michael Lee said.

The school, at Duarte and Peck roads, was placed on lockdown and classrooms were cleared one by one, Lee said.

No gunman was found.

“It would appear that the threat was not credible,” Lee said.

Also on Monday afternoon, police in nearby West Covina had received an anonymous call from a man who said he had an AK-47 at “Citrus Medical Center,” which does not correspond to the name of a hospital in the region.

The West Covina Police Department responded to Queen of the Valley Hospital, which was placed on voluntary lockdown. No gunman was found and the facility reopened at 3 p.m., police said.

At Santa Fe Middle School, the last of the students was moved off campus just before 5 p.m., Lee said.

A witness on scene at about 3 p.m. described multiple patrol cars and an armored SWAT vehicle in the area surrounding the school. Paramedics and ambulances were also on scene, as were fire engines, the witness told KTLA.

Parents and school buses were nearby, being held away from the campus by police.

A police officer was directing traffic away from Duarte Road, a witness said.

Santa Fe Middle School had about 640 students in grades six through eight in the 2012-13 school year, according to state records.

**Thank you to our fellow Monrovia Police Officers for helping to keep our kids safe by responding to the threat at the Santa Fe Middle School today. We are grateful and thankful for your quick and fervent response to the threat and the dedication to our safety.

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