BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — A bomb and active shooter threat prompted a campus-wide lockdown at California State University, Bakersfield on Monday, but many students say they never received an official alert.
Freshman Madeline Ho says confusion set in while she was already in class.
“One student got a lockdown text, so we all checked our phones. She was basically the only one who got it,” Ho said. “We decided to barricade the door, lock it, and hide under our desks.”
Ho says there were around 30 students in the classroom, but only a handful received emergency notifications.
“Only a few of us got messages, but most of us didn’t get anything at all,” she said. “We didn’t even know if it was an active shooter or just a threat, so it was really scary.”
According to CSUB Police Chief Maricela Gonzalez, the alert failure was caused by a system error from FinalSite, a third-party vendor responsible for sending campus-wide alerts through text, email, and Canvas.
“A large part of the issue was the third-party vendor not properly processing all the names that needed to be added to the alert list,” Gonzalez said. “Some of it may have also been outdated contact information from students, staff, and faculty.”
That lack of updated information played a role in who received the alerts. Second-year art major Ducky Cortes says she isn’t signed up for campus notifications.
“Honestly, I didn’t know what happened until later,” Cortes said. “I don’t really keep up with school notifications. I just do my own thing.”
Other students learned about the lockdown directly from their professors. Senior music major Jonathon Cortes says his class was moments away from starting rehearsal.
“We were about to start playing our ukuleles when our professor said, ‘The school’s calling me right now,’” Cortes said. “He listened to the voicemail, looked out into the hallway, and said, ‘I think we’re on lockdown, guys.’”
When asked how the university plans to move forward, Chief Gonzalez says the issue has since been addressed.
“We’ve worked with our third-party vendor to identify the issue, and they’ve assured us it’s now been fixed,” she said. “Since then, we’ve continued testing and following up with people who experienced problems.”
But for some students, the incident raised concerns beyond technical failures. Jonathon Cortes says the situation exposed a lack of emergency preparedness on campus.
“We’ve never had an active shooter drill,” he said. “We’ve had fire drills, so I thought it would be the same exiting the building. But instead, we had to barricade ourselves inside the classroom.”
University officials say they are continuing to review emergency procedures and are encouraging students to update their contact information to ensure they receive future alerts.
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