By Terry Miller
On September 12, 2013 around 2:38 p.m., Arcadia Police received a phone call from an anonymous person reporting he was at Arcadia High School and he was going to start shooting students with an assault rifle. Police officers and SWAT officers arrived at the campus while Arcadia Unified School District officials were notified. The school was placed on immediate lockdown and a systematic search was conducted.
During the search a second call was received, according to police reports. The caller told the officers to back off or they would get shot. Meanwhile a Pasadena Police helicopter circled the campus as anxious parents awaited news of their children. The search continued and no suspects or weapons were found. Shortly before 6:00 p.m. the lockdown was lifted and the students were escorted to the east side of the Los Angeles County Park to be reunited with family members.
The Arcadia Police Department is conducting a collaborative investigation with allied agencies and the FBI as this incident is similar to 3 other incidents last week in Duarte and Monrovia.