Students at Aliso Niguel High School were temporarily placed on precautionary lockdown after a major law enforcement response unfolded near the campus, prompting online panic and false rumors of a school shooting.
Deputies were searching for a teenage boy for questioning during the incident, which involved two teenagers near the school grounds, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department told The California Post.
A large number of sheriff’s vehicles swarmed the area with guns as authorities focused attention on a nearby red vehicle, alarming students, parents and residents.
As images and reports of the heavy police presence spread online, speculation quickly exploded across social media that an active shooter situation was underway.
But sheriff’s officials told The Post there was never a threat to students on campus, and the lockdown was carried out strictly as a safety precaution while deputies handled the nearby law enforcement activity.
The situation was brought under control within a short period of time, and the lockdown was later lifted.
