SBCC sends out alert to staff and students through web application with message:‘RUN HIDE OR FIGHT!’
The neighborhood of Santa Barbara City College’s main campus at Cliff Drive was put on high alert Wednesday evening as the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office and the Santa Barbara Police Department searched for an outstanding subject — causing SBCC to go into a lockdown, preventing any traffic from entering campus.
Just before 7 p.m. Wednesday, the police department had the subject in custody, who was described by the Sheriff’s Office as a Hispanic male in his 30’s with a shaved head, brown button down flannel shirt, white t-shirt, grey shorts and tattoos on legs.
According to the Sheriff’s Office, the subject did not have a weapon on him upon arrest.
Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Raquel Zick said that around 4 p.m. the compliance response team was “conducting surveillance” for a wanted suspect. He was spotted and attempted to flee, which was what prompted all the alerts.
In addition to providing the subject’s description, the Sheriff’s Office’s alerts advised, “If you see anything suspicious please report it to the police immediately.”
While the joint team was conducting the search, City College also sent out alerts their own alerts using AlertU, its web-based system intended for emergency text messaging. The following timeline shows what the AlertU message said.
5:48 p.m.: Armed intruder SBCC Main Campus Cliff Drive, take appropriate action, RUN HIDE OR FIGHT!
6:06 p.m.: Armed intruder SBCC Main Campus Cliff Drive, take appropriate action, RUN HIDE OR FIGHT! Please continue to shelter in place until an all clear is given.
6:30 p.m.: Santa Barbara Police is investigating a wanted person in the area of the main campus (near Cliff Drive). We were advised to put the SBCC main campus on LOCKDOWN as a precaution. Please continue to SHELTER IN PLACE, TURN OFF LIGHTS As soon as we receive the ALL CLEAR from Santa Barbara Police, we will send another message
6:38 p.m.: Santa Barbara Police Department has given us the ALL CLEAR. We are initiating a removal of the lockdown
The initial reports that a gunman was on campus were false, leading to dozens of frantic phone calls to SBCC’s dispatch center. According to reports, the school chose to put itself on lockdown.
The identification and the status of the subject was unknown late Wednesday night, according to Anthony Wagner, police spokesman.
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