Bullard High shooter hoax raises security questions, but FUSD ‘very proud’ of response
After Bullard High School’s active shooter hoax Wednesday, district leaders said they’re “very proud” of how the district and police handled the situation but still plan to review some protocols going forward.
“We have a few lessons learned to ensure we stick to protocol – like ensuring all parent communication comes from the Communications department during an active shooter threat and ensuring everyone on campus, including Trustees comply with the lockdown order from our Fresno PD,” said district spokesperson Nikki Henry in an email to The Bee’s Education Lab on Friday.
At a news conference following the incident Wednesday afternoon, Superintendent Bob Nelson said the event “will be part of the conversation” now regarding Bullard’s proposed cellphone ban.
Henry confirmed the ban has not yet been implemented and doesn’t have a date set yet.
Trustee Terry Slatic, who told the Ed Lab he happened to be driving past Bullard when he saw police cars speeding to the school and followed, left the dais at Wednesday’s board meeting to praise the response he witnessed from PD while also raising some questions.
Slatic said he was informed by a police officer at Bullard on Wednesday that one concerned parent managed to get past police and into a classroom. However, police and district officials said, after reviewing the incident, including security camera footage, they were unable to confirm Slatic’s remarks but stopped short of completely ruling out the possibility.
“What could have happened?” Slatic said Wednesday night. “Let’s say (the parent) had an Otterbox or some similar device that was of a bright, shiny variety. That officer turned and saw a person that didn’t have a lanyard — and we’re in a lockdown — who’s obviously not a cop. There but for the grace of God, we don’t have a dead parent.”
Slatic also criticized fellow board members for voting down proposed improvements to the Bullard High School fence to increase the height in February 2021.
Fresno police spokesperson Lt. Bill Dooley said that given the volume of officers, it’s difficult to trace what Slatic overheard back to any individual officer.
“And truth be told, when a situation like that is unfolding, officers aren’t focusing on anything other than identifying the actual threat,” Dooley said in an email to the Ed Lab. “If a parent is in a classroom, hiding with kids, or grabs their child and runs while shots are being fired if they are not doing the shooting, officers are going to where the shooting is occurring.”
Dooley added that the department still asks that parents don’t enter campuses while law enforcement is there “for their own safety.”
FUSD reviewed footage from their cameras on Bullard’s campus but did not see any parents “jumping the fence during the lockdown,” Henry said.
“Without any clarity or confirmation of a parent or parents on campus roaming about during the lockdown, we would not be able to take any action,” she said.
In a follow-up call, Slatic said he couldn’t attribute what he heard to a specific officer but that the incident with a parent making it to a classroom “absolutely happened.”
Campus security has been an ongoing conversation in Fresno Unified for the past several months, especially after an incident at Pyle Elementary in May when a parent barged into a classroom at the start of the school day and threatened a teacher.
The Fresno Teachers Association called for not only an investigation into the parent but also a revamped campus safety plan from the district in response.
Hoover High School teacher Sara Reyes provoked further conversation in June in an open letter to Superintendent Nelson detailing her experiences with a student. She said she discovered the student had a history of threatening students and teachers and claimed the district did not brief her on his behavioral history or equip her to handle it.
