Deputies from the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station were called to Canyon Country on Thursday after receiving reports of possible gunfire in the neighborhood of Sierra Vista Junior High School.
However, no gunshot wounds were reported and sheriff’s deputies reported no evidence has been found of shots being fired. William S. Hart Union High School District officials said they believed the incident was connected to a gang-related brawl off campus.
“There was some kind of brawl situation between students, and there is no active shooter,” said Deputy Miguel Meza, a spokesman for the Sheriff’s Information Bureau, at 3:45 p.m. “Two kids have been detained so (deputies) can hear what exactly happened leading up to the incident, but not arrests.”
Hart District Superintendent Mike Kuhlman sent an email to Hart district families late Thursday afternoon that read, in part:
“To begin with, I want you all to know that at this time we do not believe there are any injuries associated with an alleged discharge of a firearm near those campuses. One of our vigilant staff members heard what appeared to be the sound of a gunshot outside the perimeter of the school near Sierra Vista. That staff member immediately alerted law enforcement (they were already on campus).”
The incident resulted in lockdowns at Sierra Vista as well as the nearby Canyon High School and Cedarcreek Elementary School. After the lockdowns were lifted, Kuhlman’s email to families indicated the only known injury was not a gunshot wound:
“We believe this incident to be a gang-related event,” Kuhlman’s email said. “We are aware that one child was injured in what appears to be a gang-related fight. We do not believe that anything occurred on either the Sierra Vista or the Canyon High School campuses. All of this activity occurred in the surrounding community.”
The incident was first reported shortly after 3:07 p.m. around the southwest corner of the junior high school campus, at the intersection of Camp Plenty Road and Stillmore Street, according to Los Angeles County Fire Department officials.
Dave Caldwell, a spokesman for the Hart district, confirmed to The Signal during the lockdown that no students or campus staff at Sierra Vista were injured as a result of the incident.
“Nothing happened on any campus. It was something that happened in the nearby neighborhood,” said Caldwell. “And so, we went on lockdown as a precaution.”
“We’re going to be releasing everyone shortly,” Kuhlman added shortly after Caldwell, saying that he and the district wanted to assure families and those still on the campuses that the matter was being handled by law enforcement.
Fire Department representative Esteban Benitez said at approximately 3:15 p.m. that the call had been first received by dispatch as an “emergency medical services,” or EMS call, but did not have further details as Fire Department personnel were still en route.
As of 3:50 p.m., no injuries had been reported as a result of the incident, according to Meza, and the lockdown on the school campuses had been lifted.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated as additional information is confirmed.
