An Echo Park elementary school was thrust into lockdown Tuesday while police swarmed the surrounding streets, searching for a man reported to be carrying a gun in the neighborhood. Students and staff sheltered inside the campus as officers moved through nearby blocks.
Police Search and Campus Lockdown
Officers "recovered the alleged gun but continued to look for the man carrying the gun," according to CBS Los Angeles. Video from the outlet shows multiple officers in the area while the active search stretched beyond the school grounds and into the neighborhood.
A Pattern of Campus Scares in L.A.
The Echo Park scare comes on the heels of a string of campus lockdowns across Los Angeles. In late April, a swatting call forced Florence Nightingale Middle School in Cypress Park into lockdown, as reported by NBC Los Angeles. More broadly, the Los Angeles Times has tracked a rise in weapons incidents at district schools, including a 2024 case in which a 10-year-old student brought a loaded handgun onto a Glassell Park elementary campus.
District Policy and Safety Steps
According to Los Angeles Unified's parent-student handbook, the federal Gun-Free Schools Act and California law prohibit firearms on campus. The handbook explains that schools rely on shelter-in-place and lockdown procedures when there is a potential threat, and it directs families to look only to official school and law-enforcement communication channels for updates during emergencies, per the Los Angeles Unified School District.
It was not immediately clear whether authorities had released a suspect description or whether anyone was hurt. This story will be updated when the district or law enforcement provides additional information.
