Masked intruders with gun reported on campus
Two intruders wearing ski masks and carrying a firearm drove onto the CVHS campus and approached the courtyard beside Gate 6 on Jan. 31, according to an Alameda County Sheriff’s Office (ACSO) report. They left quickly, no shots were fired and no one was hurt.
A CVHS security camera caught view of the two driving a grey Ford SUV, approaching Gate 6 with a gun, and then running back to the Ford and driving away. The footage also showed two CVHS students going after the SUV and later returning to the campus.
Principal Christopher Fortenberry issued a statement via mail on Jan. 31 at 2:43 p.m. stating that “we received reports of a potential threat,” that the sheriff’s office responded and found that “there is no immediate threat.” The statement did not mention anything about a firearm being involved in the situation.
Chris Humphrey, a concerned father of a CVHS student, obtained the ACSO report and shared it with The Olympian. When asked if the school handled the situation appropriately, he answered, “Initially yes… you don’t want to create a panic. But I don’t think that the same dynamic is there a week later and there wasn’t any follow up… I think this is the kind of thing parents should be aware of. And I think the students should be aware.”
According to the school’s ALICE (Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate) procedure, this situation would call for a hard lockdown where all classes should have been closed off entirely, gates closed completely and a sheriff on site. Despite all that happened, CVHS did not call for a schoolwide lockdown. During the event, teachers closed doors and windows and held students in classrooms in the 500 hall. Staff members directed students outside classrooms into the library.
In an interview, when asked which lockdown should have been implemented according to ALICE, Fortenberry simply said, “I’m calling it none of that.”
According to the sheriff’s report, secretary Debbie Rose received a report from a CVHS teacher of a grey Ford SUV with armed suspects inside at 1:20 p.m. Rose called the ACSO, which sent two deputies to assist with the investigation.
Fortenberry met both deputies to start the investigation, beginning with a student who witnessed the situation. The witness reportedly heard an abrupt noise and clatter near Gate 6: “He heard drinks being spilled and saw a group of students gathering at the gate.” The report also stated that the witness saw “two subjects wearing ski masks and one of the subjects was holding a black handgun with a laser on it.” After that moment, the intruders in ski masks returned to the Ford SUV and drove off.
When asked about a gun in an Olympian interview on Feb. 16, Fortenberry declined to comment on what the CVHS security team witnessed.
Fortenberry and Assistant Principal Steve Hendee gave the two investigating deputies access to security camera footage. The camera tape caught most of the act to piece together the story.
Deputies then questioned two CVHS students. The first reportedly stated that he did not know who the two intruders were and why they wanted to enter the campus. He did not think that he was in danger and was not afraid. He also stated that he stays away from “politics” and his only focus is playing sports. “He never saw the firearm,” the deputy reported.
The second stated that “while he was eating lunch, an unidentified student told him there were guys trying to fight him.” He walked towards Gate 6 to confront them and briefly saw the firearm.
The deputy described both students as “uncooperative” and advised them to avoid all contact with the suspects.
Another source told the deputies that he believed that there was a “dispute over a girl” and identified the suspects.
With that information, the deputies on the scene drove by the last known address of the suspects, but they were unable to find any evidence such as the grey Ford.
The Olympian asked the sheriff’s office about the status of the case and whether any suspects have been arrested, and has not yet received a reply.
“The incident itself is not the fault of the school but the lack of honesty and transparency afterwards falls squarely on the school administration,” said Humphrey.
This is just the latest example of the administration hiding the information. The issue is not about the masked intruders, but about the transparency and cover up.
This not a CVHS issue, but the district-wide leadership issue. Ahmadi needs to resign along with her cronies.
Posting anonymously due to retaliation concerns by the administration.
Although I understand why the school didn’t want to mention a gun as the situation was happening since the people carrying it left pretty quickly, I think they should have updated us on the situation. After the threat was gone, I believe parents, students and staff should have been told what the situation was. I wonder if we would have ever got the the truth on what happened if the police report wouldn’t have gotten out.
It is truly sad that a real shooting threat was not taken seriously. Especially now that the school is trying to deny it.
I’m glad the Olympian is reporting on this issue, especially when the school did nothing. As students we should know when there’s a potential threat near campus. I was in 700 hall at the time, and the only thing that alerted me of suspicious activity was the announcement telling the teachers to check their email. We didn’t lockdown, I had no idea there was a threat. There should be more transparency, especially in situations like this. This is a great article.
This is how the school system runs. They hide stuff to protect the school. Their priority is not the kids and parents.
Thank you for writing this story as we deserve to know the truth as students. We go to school everyday and deserve to be protected from threats like this and I find it despicable the lack of honesty throughout this entire situation. What would they have done if there was actual harm done? Under this situation ALICE should have definitely been called for. Hopefully, students, parents, and staff won’t be kept in the dark regarding situations like this in the near future.
I’m shocked that they didn’t tell us anything about it. I know we had issues last year with an incident in the office, but that was never a gun. Shockingly, they never told anyone about it, the parents, teachers, and students. I understand that there can be panic in a situation like this, but not telling us creates even more panic, I’ve lost that level of trust in the administration to report and handle events like this in the future.
I remember coming back from lunch and hearing about two men in a mask. I was disappointed that we couldn’t get any further information about what is going on since I feel like we deserve to know. I also thought that our parents should know as well.
I did not realize that there was a threat on campus. I thought it was an ALICE drill because I did not hear what was happening. Though I just can’t believe that actually happened. I feel as though the school should mention issues that happen like this through the announcements at least after it was handled quickly and quietly (but not during lunch as you can not hear the speakers at that time).
Thank you for this post. As a parent of 2 high school students, it’s disappointing that a clear and honest communication from the high school administrators was not carried out post incident. As parents we send our kids everyday with the hope that they are safe at school. There are events which can happen beyond our control, but it’s the responsibility of the school authorities to let the parents/ caregivers and students be made aware of what happened, what measures were taken to resolve the issue and what future measures are done to prevent it from happening. What about the students? If I was one and not made aware of a potential threatening incident which would have risked my life at school or that if my friends, I would lose my complete trust in my school management.
The more we are aware of the situation around us, the more we are vigilant and prepared to face the situation around us.
The details are very curious. My daughter and members of her class were on their way to the library and yelled at to go back to class. A few minutes later she said their was an announcement for teachers to read their emails and then they were held in the classroom (she was not in 500). I’m curious about dissemination of info to teachers and especially substitutes. Last year a similar scenario happened but she had a sub, the sub stated he did not have access to an email so they were completely in the dark until other students started going live on TikTok.
Thank you for posting this. In this day and age this is something every parent and student should be aware of. The incident itself is not the fault of the school but the lack of honesty and transparency afterwards falls squarely on the school administration.