Executive Summary
- Placer County deputies responded to reports of an armed man near Colfax Elementary at 1:30 p.m. Thursday.
- Colfax Elementary and High School were placed under a shelter-in-place order while officers searched the area.
- Resources including drones and a CHP helicopter were deployed, but no armed subject was found.
- Officials confirmed all students and staff were safe, and police remained on scene for dismissal.
Placer County law enforcement secured Colfax Elementary School and Colfax High School on Thursday afternoon following reports of an armed individual near the campuses, resulting in a temporary shelter-in-place order. Authorities conducted an extensive search of the area before declaring the scene safe.
According to the Placer County Sheriff’s Office, deputies received a call at approximately 1:30 p.m. regarding a man possibly carrying a gun in the vicinity of Colfax Elementary School. A school resource officer, who was already on campus when the alert was received, immediately coordinated with responding units to secure the facilities.
Deputies launched a comprehensive search of both schools and the surrounding neighborhoods, utilizing drones and a helicopter from the California Highway Patrol. Following the operation, the Sheriff’s Office confirmed that no armed individual was located on either campus or in the immediate area. To ensure continued safety, law enforcement remained on the scene during school dismissal.
Colfax High School interim principal Trent Wilson stated via Facebook that all students and staff were safe and accounted for following the brief lockdown. Colfax City Councilmember Trinity Burruss noted in a separate statement that while law enforcement indicated the reported weapon might have been an airsoft gun, that information remained unverified.
Public Safety Response
The rapid mobilization of aerial and ground assets illustrates the aggressive posture law enforcement agencies maintain regarding potential threats to educational institutions. The coordination between the on-site school resource officer and external support units highlights the operational readiness of local safety protocols. While the search yielded no immediate threat, the incident serves as a stress test for inter-agency communication and emergency response times in the Placer County school district.
