Today at 9:02 am, principal Debra Hawkins called a school-wide lockdown for Whitney High School for two hours and 15 minutes as a reaction to a robbery suspect fleeing the area on foot. The Rocklin and Lincoln Police Departments then coordinated to set up a perimeter in hopes of catching the suspect.

All students were held in their first period classes for the entirety of the lockdown, with many teachers and administrators initially unaware of the situation at hand. Several minutes later, teachers received an all-staff email explanation and reminder that the situation was not a drill.

“The specifics of what is going on I’m not sure of, I just know that everyone is trying to be cautious. [Mrs. Hawkins] just wants to make sure all the students and staff are secure, nobody coming or going, and we have to take those safety measures as faculty,”  discipline tech Mr. Paul Reynoso said at the onset of the lockdown.

Several seniors, like Judy Daniels, who had off periods or off-campus ROP classes during first period, arrived at school to find a quiet campus, and were ushered into nearby areas such as the gym and On Campus Suspension (OCS) room.

“I was actually coming from my ROP [class] over at Lincoln High School, and I didn’t know what was going on. Truthfully, I came in so late today I didn’t really think anything of it,” Daniels said. “I was kind of freaked out, especially since I have a younger sister at school here and I couldn’t get a hold of her. A lady from the golf cart ended up coming and picking me up along with some of my other friends, and they drove us straight to the gym and made us run in.”

The following is a timeline of what happened next:

At 9:40, Hawkins allows for the Unleashed morning announcements to be played in classrooms.

At 10:48, Hawkins announced that administrators were still being updated with information.

At 11:19, the lockdown was lifted. Students were allowed a 10 minute break before being told to go to their third block class. Students missed their second black class entirely.

At 12:09 the Rocklin Police Department relayed to us that the suspect was apprehended and is currently in custody.

by HARMONY REILLY & CARSEN VAN DER LINDEN