Lockdown at Carpinteria’s Aliso School Lifted After Report of Handgun Turns Out to be False Alarm

Aliso Elementary School briefly went into lockdown Friday morning after a report of people with a handgun on the nearby railroad tracks, but deputies quickly determined there was no firearm, according to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office.

Public Information Officer Raquel Zick said the call came in at 10:11 a.m. reporting “subjects with a handgun” on the tracks near the campus at 4545 Carpinteria Ave. Lockdown protocols were immediately initiated at the school.

Within about 10 minutes, deputies located the individuals and found they were carrying a cell phone and an umbrella, not a weapon, Zick said. The lockdown was lifted at 10:28 a.m.

“This is a good example of students reporting suspicious activity to adults and a reminder that if you see something—say something,” Zick said in a social media post. No firearm was recovered.

The Sheriff’s Office did not report any injuries.