Elementary school evacuated because of apparent ‘swatting’ hoax, Long Beach police say

Collins Elementary School in North Long Beach was locked down and evacuated this morning after someone called in a threat that police now say appears to be a hoax.

Authorities did not reveal the exact nature of the threat, but the Long Beach Police Department said in an email that officers learned about it at 8:16 a.m Monday.

The school was placed on lockdown, interrupting a morning awards assembly, according to a statement posted on the school’s Facebook page .

“Students were evacuated from the cafeteria and their classrooms for safety precautions,” the statement said.

Police briefly detained someone at the school whom officers thought was connected to the threat, but the person was soon released and officers determined the threat wasn’t credible, LBPD spokesperson Allison Gallagher said.

Officers also swept the campus at 6125 Coke Ave. to make sure it was safe, she said.

Investigators now believe the threat was a “swatting” call, which is a hoax designed to provoke a police response, Gallagher said.

By the afternoon, students had returned to class and teaching resumed, according to the statement on the school’s Facebook page.

Collins Elementary is in Long Beach, near Downing Avenue and Harding Street, but it is part of the Paramount Unified School District.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated with the time of the call to police.

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