Report of possible 'active threat' at Ventura College unfounded, police say

An "active threat" alert Tuesday evening at Ventura College was declared unfounded after police realized it was "mistakenly triggered" by a college employee, authorities said.

Officers initially responded around 6 p.m. Tuesday to the campus, located at 4667 Telegraph Road, after school staff received an active shooter alert on school computers, according to social media posts from the Ventura Police Department.

Vanessa Stotler, a college spokeswoman, said Wednesday morning that Ventura police worked with college police to clear the campus "building by building," before discovering the gaffe.

Stotler said officials gave school community members the "all clear" via email Tuesday night, then sent an email with more details Wednesday morning.

The employee triggered the alarm "via their mobile device from an off-campus location," the email said, then went on, "We are grateful for the swift reaction to this event and commend all the emergency personnel that responded."

By 7:40 p.m. Tuesday, authorities said the campus had been evacuated and confirmed no shooting took place.

"The scene has been cleared (and) is no longer considered an active incident," police officials said on Twitter.

Stotler said the school was still working with the police to determine how the false alarm, the third since April 2021, was triggered.

Police found that a similar unfounded alert at Moorpark College in April 2021 was the result of a "misdial." Stotler said Ventura College, which is also part of the Ventura County Community College District, uses the same alarm system.

Another false report was triggered at Ventura College in July 2021, though the situation was resolved within about 20 minutes after police said college officials notified them of the error.

Stotler said the college was evaluating its active shooter procedures and alarm system.

"We are looking at policy and protocol," she said. "That's pending a lot more work into the system itself."

Students and staff on campus were placed under a shelter-in-place order while police conducted their investigation. Those on campus were asked to lock the doors, turn off lights and stay inside until police could escort them to safety, according to an internal schoolwide email shared with The Star.

Stolter said there were "not a lot of people on campus," when the alert was triggered.

No injuries were reported. Firefighters from the Ventura Fire Department were also dispatched to stage nearby.

Ventura police requested traffic to be shut down at Telegraph and Day roads due to the heavy law enforcement response.

The Ventura County Sheriff's Office and Ventura County Community College District Police also responded to the incident. A sheriff's helicopter was searching overhead while SWAT team members staged at the scene.

Members of the public were advised to avoid the area of Ventura College while police were on scene.

Jeremy Childs is a breaking news and general assignment reporter for the Ventura County Star. He can be reached at 805-437-0208, jeremy.childs@vcstar.com, and on Twitter @Jeremy_Childs.

This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Police: Report of 'active threat' at Ventura College unfounded