On the morning of April 24th at 8:30 a.m., Simi Valley High School in Ventura County received a bomb threat over the phone, leading to the temporary closure of the campus. During the shutdown, law enforcement authorities along with K-9 units conducted a thorough search of the school premises.
According to the spokesperson for the Simi Valley Police Department speaking to KTLA, shortly after 8:30 a.m., police received the alert and promptly dispatched officers to the school located at 5400 Cochran St.
Sky5 arrived at the scene around 9:30 a.m. and observed officers and police dogs conducting a search around the snack shop near the sports field. Some students and staff were seen sitting at the nearby basketball court, with minimal movement within the campus.
“All students and staff are safe,” stated the Simi Valley Unified School District on their Facebook page regarding the lockdown situation.
The statement mentioned, “The sports field is undergoing inspection, and once deemed safe, all students on campus will be evacuated to the sports field.” Officers would then proceed to check each classroom individually to assess the credibility of the threat.
The district later updated that the sports field had been cleared, and by 10:15 a.m., students were relocated there.
“For safety reasons, we ask students to refrain from using phones and social media,” the school noted. Parents were also advised not to come to the school.
Police and K-9 units further searched two buildings in the vicinity of the school campus as a precaution.
Around 12:30 p.m., the lockdown was lifted, allowing students to return to their classrooms. The Simi Valley Unified School District stated in a message, “Nothing was found, and after several hours of searching, the school was declared safe.”
Several streets surrounding the high school were closed off during the investigation.