by Dominique Redfearn
An all clear has been given by police after what was thought to have been of gunshots were reported at Riverside City College on Nov. 7.
Students received a text and email alert at 8:31 p.m. confirming that the reports were a false alarm. Some students took to social media to express apparent frustration that an alert was not sent before there was deemed to be no threat.
Police were spotted in the A.G. Paul Quadrangle during the lockdown before classes resumed.
“I don’t know the specifics, but it was possibly a firework that was reported as gunfire,” said Riverside Police Department spokesperson Ryan Railsback.
Nearby Cape Cod Apartments confirmed that there were no fireworks reported at their complex while Olivewood Apartments could not be reached for comment.
Campus police were unavailable to comment.
In an email sent out to faculty Nov. 8, Peggy Cartwright, associate vice chancellor of Strategic Communications and Institutional Advancement, confirmed that a caller reported hearing what was believed to be gun shots in or near the quad.
According to Cartwright, campus police responded to investigate the call, but found there were no active threats in the area. A subsequent related 911 call prompted a wider response by the Riverside Police Department and California Highway Patrol.
A second search was conducted by all of the responding agencies and again no active threat was found. It was determined that fireworks had had been set off near the campus.
GUYS FALSE ALARM! NO ACTIVE SHOOTER AT RCC pic.twitter.com/HSFftzQA7X
— Yuh Manz (@TheSovietHotdog) November 8, 2018
Y wasn’t a text sent out before the clear text? Something like “get inside” or something. It didn’t matter if it was a false alarm. Mistakes like this are dangerous. Imagine if it was an active shooter @RCCOutreach @mvcollege #rcc #riversidecommunitycollege #morenovalleycollege
— Claudia (@Dollface12089) November 8, 2018
How is there a shooting by/at #RCC and the school doesn’t notify us about it but they notify us about it being all clear?
— Yasmin ♥ (@yazzyfizzle94) November 8, 2018
I started following all the cops, they all went inside the quadrangle, guns ready, students came out, one of the students said she heard a gunshot in the building & the officers were telling them to get out
— izaak (@_konman_) November 8, 2018
This is a developing story. Samantha Bartholomew contributed to this report.