Campus threat at Hoover High School in Fresno a hoax. Nobody injured, officials say
By Anthony Galaviz and
Thaddeus Miller
Police descended on Hoover High School on Friday after receiving a threat to campus safety.
Officers surrounded the campus at Barstow Avenue and First Street in northeast Fresno during the noon hour to investigate.
By 1:10 p.m., officials said it appeared to be a hoax call and nobody was injured.
Officers checked the campus, including classrooms door-to-door, the gym and the pool area. They did not have their weapons drawn.
Fresno Unified Trustee Claudia Cázares, who represents the Hoover area, also told The Bee that no one had been injured.
Both Cázares and police said the call originated from a number with a non-local area code.
Fresno Fire Department personnel staged nearby at the corner of First and Bullard Avenue; county fire and three EMS units were also on the scene. They were released around 1 p.m.
Parents who heard about the lockdown arrived and waited outside school grounds. Parents were allowed to sign out students and take them home from the office after police determined there was no threat.
Hoover is the most recent Fresno campus to be targeted by a false threat call. In north Fresno, Clovis West was locked down five times in February when it was the target of a series of “swatting” calls.
Police investigated a reported threat at Hoover High School in Fresno, California, on Friday, March 24, 2023. THADDEUS MILLER tmiller@fresnobee.com
Concerned parents gather outside Herbert Hoover High School after a hoax call from outside the area forced a lockdown Friday around noon, March 24, 2023 in Fresno. ERIC PAUL ZAMORA ezamora@fresnobee.com
Concerned parents gather outside Herbert Hoover High School after a hoax call from outside the area forced a lockdown Friday around noon, March 24, 2023 in Fresno. ERIC PAUL ZAMORA ezamora@fresnobee.com
Conceerned parents gather outside Herbert Hoover High School after a hoax call from outside the area forced a lockdown Friday around noon, March 24, 2023 in Fresno. ERIC PAUL ZAMORA ezamora@fresnobee.com
Concerned parents line up outside Herbert Hoover High School to retrieve their children after the emergency was declared a hoax Friday around noon, March 24, 2023 in Fresno. ERIC PAUL ZAMORA ezamora@fresnobee.com
Worried parents gather outside Herbert Hoover High School after a hoax call from outside the area forced a lockdown Friday around noon, March 24, 2023 in Fresno. ERIC PAUL ZAMORA ezamora@fresnobee.com
Concerned parents gather outside Herbert Hoover High School after a hoax call from outside the area forced a lockdown Friday around noon, March 24, 2023 in Fresno. ERIC PAUL ZAMORA ezamora@fresnobee.com
This story was originally published March 24, 2023 at 12:57 PM.
Reporter Thaddeus Miller has covered cities in the central San Joaquin Valley since 2010, writing about everything from breaking news to government and police accountability. A native of Fresno, he joined The Fresno Bee in 2019 after time in Merced and Los Banos.
Anthony Galaviz writes about sports for The Fresno Bee. He covers the Las Vegas Raiders, high schools, boxing, MMA and junior colleges. He’s been with The Bee since 1997 and attended Fresno City College before graduating from Fresno State with a major in journalism and a minor in criminology. Support my work with a digital subscription
