MVHS students sheltered in place after an anonymous email threatening a shooting was sent to administrators and staff at 9:03 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 8. 

Principal Ben Clausnitzer initiated the shelter-in-place at 9:08 a.m. in his first announcement over the PA system. By 9:20 a.m., the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Department arrived to sweep the campus for potential threats, as students barricaded themselves within locked classrooms. 

This lockdown lasted two hours until Clausnitzer announced that the school had been declared “safe and secure” by the authorities. He then issued an all-clear at 10:59 a.m., dismissing students and staff from school for the rest of the day. All after-school activities and athletics were promptly canceled. School is scheduled to resume on Tuesday — after Veteran’s Day — with increased police presence in the morning.

In the email, the anonymous sender claimed to be a senior currently taking a class from AP Calculus BC teacher John Conlin. The threat claimed that both themselves and a possible second shooter would target Conlin, staff and potentially students. According to Clausnitzer, local authorities would be responsible for any efforts to identify the shooter.

With the shelter-in-place lasting almost two hours, various students without access to the bathroom relieved themselves in makeshift stalls in the classroom. As the issue grew, administration later offered to personally escort students safely to restrooms. Clausnitzer explains that this extended delay in getting students out of the shelter-in-place was in part due to the coordination with schools surrounding MVHS, as information about the situation had spread to both Kennedy Middle School and Lincoln Elementary School.

“The sheriffs needed to work with CUSD as well as FUHSD just to make sure they had a handle on all of the information that was occurring,” Clausnitzer said. “Then, once they did, they were able to come back and say, ‘Yes, everything in the area, including Monta Vista, is safe and secure.’”

Clausnitzer clarifies that the administration had called for a shelter-in-place, where teachers are asked to lock their doors and keep students indoors, rather than the more extreme “Run-Hide-Defend” protocol, where students must either barricade the doors inside a dark classroom and prepare to protect themselves, or flee from campus in the event of an active threatening situation on campus. 

Many classes on campus followed the “Run-Hide-Defend” protocol out of caution. Clausnitzer expressed his appreciation for the patience and cooperation of staff, students and families as they went through the proper protocols to ensure their safety. Going forward, he encourages students to utilize MVHS’ health resources if needed.

“Anytime there is an event like this, it creates emotions in people and those emotions are natural,” Clausnitzer said. “I would say that if you’re ever at a place where you’re feeling like you need help processing those emotions, please reach out to a trusted adult, whether they’re at home or whether they’re at school. Our school-based therapists, as well as our school counselors, can certainly be accessed in a variety of ways, directly or even just by talking to another trusted adult who can connect you to them.”