By Diane Lee
Staff Writer
Mira Costa was placed under two lockdowns Sept. 8 after a teacher discovered a backpack containing flammable objects.
The backpack was first found under the staircase of the southern history building around 10 a.m. School officials were quickly notified, and the case was immediately turned over to the Manhattan Beach Police Department.
“There were four to six large boxes of matches, large matches, a can of lighter fluid and a can of tennis balls. The MBPD felt those materials could be used to put together small explosive devices,” Principal Ben Dale said.
The first lockdown was announced on the loudspeaker by Dale at around 11:15 a.m., toward the end of third period. A few brief announcements by Dale asked teachers to check their e-mails for more information and to keep their students in class until further notice.
Around 11:25 a.m., Dale announced that teachers could release students to their fourth period classes. Then in the middle of fourth period, the administration issued another longer lockdown. During this time, every student’s backpack was searched by a police officer or campus security lead Ray Lee and released after they were deemed innocent and not in possession of materials.
“I had to stay in my classroom for a long time until the police came. However, I understand that the school did it to keep us safe,” sophomore Erin Anderson said.
During and after the second lockdown, Vice Principal Paula Spence sent out two e-mails to parents informing them of the situation. Dale also sent out an e-mail at 4:38 p.m. to parents, briefing everyone on the events that happened throughout the day.
Two press releases were released the same day as the lockdown. The MBPD first sent out a short press release, which was followed later by a more informative press release by the Manhattan Beach Unified School District.
“Safety is always the highest priority at our schools. Mira Costa and district officials took actions that maximized the safety of all of our students and staff. We will focus on the actions and communication that were effective as well as those which we could have improved,” Superintendent Dr. Michael Matthews said.
According to School Resource Officer John Loy, the investigation is ongoing but no suspects have been found. Administrators believe there is not much to prevent an incident like this in the future.
“We’re not going to add more security guards. We’re going to keep being vigilant and keep the school safe,” Lee said.
Despite the possibly dangerous situation, administrators are generally satisfied with the behavior of students and teachers in the lockdown.
“I think the faculty and the students handled the situation very well. They were cooperative, and I am very proud of how the faculty and the students worked together,” said Loy.
“Some match-heads were already taken off and we investigated to see if there was any tennis ball device already put together,” Dale said. “Only the main compartments of the bags were searched because we felt what we were looking for would be easily stored there.”
The search extended throughout lunchtime, and fifth period started 20 minutes late. The locker halls were also searched during lunch, which delayed some students from getting their lunch or class materials.
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