Students at Manhattan Beach Middle School were put into “shelter in place” protocol for about 40 minutes early this afternoon, due to threat reported by a student that was exacerbated when someone pulled a fire alarm.
The shelter in place was declared at about noon and lifted a little after 12:40 after the school’s principal was able to determine the reported threat was not substantial, and after the Manhattan Beach Police Department were able to check the campus.
“In this day and age, we cannot be too safe,” MBUSD Superintendent Michael Matthews wrote in an email to the school community.
A shelter in place closes the campus to visitors and brings all kids inside school walls and under direct, close supervision. The incident brought news trucks and a brief sense of panic in the community in the wake of a school shooting a week ago in Texas.
“It’s quite a way for us to go into the long weekend,” Matthews wrote. “I hope you all have a quiet and peaceful weekend.”
