Lower Lake >> Schools were on lockdown after reports came in of a student walking on campus Thursday morning with a firearm that turned out to be a BB gun.
Clearlake Police Department (CPD) school resource officer Bobbi Oakley received second-hand information at about 8:15 a.m. from an employee of the Konocti Education Center who said a boy on bus 6 was in possession of a firearm, Sgt. Travis Lenz said Thursday afternoon. The only suspect description provided at that time was that he was a white male, with red facial hair wearing a red hat.
The employee who reported the boy wasn’t sure where he went after he stepped off the bus, but suspected he was headed for Lower Lake High School (LLHS), Lenz said. Within minutes, CPD officers were at the scene and contacted school officials to gather additional information.
As the search went on, Oakley received a call from an employee at Carle High School, located less than a mile from LLHS, saying they had a boy who fit the suspect description on the school grounds in one of the classrooms.
At that point, Lake County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO) deputies were called in for assistance and arrived in about 10 minutes. All schools in the immediate area were placed on lockdown as law enforcement searched for the student, LCSO Lt. Steve Brooks said in a press statement issued about an hour after the incident.
It was a false alarm though, as officers determined the boy who fit the description was not their suspect. Seconds after determining he was not the threat, Oakley received information from an employee at LLHS who said they boy left headed toward Ray’s Food Place.
CPD officers checked the area and Lenz found the suspect seated at a bus stop outside of the grocery store.
The 17-year-old Clearlake resident was found in possession of a c02 powered BB gun pistol, which upon first glance would be easily confused with a real firearm, Lenz said.
He was placed in custody at that time, and was later turned over to the custody of Lake County Juvenile Probation facing charges of possession of a BB gun on school grounds and possession of an instrument which has the capabilities of projecting a metallic instrument.
