BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — For the second day in a row, a college campus in Bakersfield was placed on lockdown Tuesday, this time at Bakersfield College, which was evacuated after students were told to shelter in place following an anonymous threat.
Around 2:30 p.m. Tuesday afternoon, students began evacuating Bakersfield College, hours after a lockdown was first issued just before 11 a.m.
"I didn't really know what was happening. We were all just in the same… questioning everything. We were worried. There was people panicking. There was people trying to leave the classroom," Stephanie Vega said.
Vega was one of many students sheltering in place after a campus-wide alert was sent by text and email, following what school officials described as an anonymous threat. Specifics about the threat were not disclosed.
"I was outside, and then I looked at my phone, and I was like 'oh dang, lockdown, I gotta go into class'," Zhi Hoang said.
"I would like more details, but the whole campus was very unsure what was going to happen. I do wish we had like anymore details," Gerardo Medina said.
The Bakersfield Police Department said the message received at Bakersfield College was similar to a threat sent to California State University, Bakersfield just one day earlier, threatening to shoot the campus and blow themselves up.
Several students at CSUB criticized the campus's response to the threat, saying not everyone received notifications, leading to confusion among students.
"People just walking around like a normal day, because they didn't get the message, and that was the biggest thing. We were like 'Is it active? Is it just a threat?' we didn't know for the longest time," Nikolas Deaton said.
In response, CSUB officials reminded students on Tuesday to sign up for emergency alerts.
The incidents weren't limited to Bakersfield. The Tehachapi Police Department confirmed they also investigated a school shooting threat, which was later determined to be unfounded.
With multiple incidents in just two days, some Bakersfield College students believe the threats may be connected.
"I would say so because after what happened over there. They were locked in for like two hours and we were locked here for like three hours," Medina said.
"Because people have been having threats lately, many campuses, that's all I can say," Hoang said.
"They're probably trying to scare schools, and I'm not really sure what that's about, but, it's really concerning, especially in this time," Vega said.
At this time, there is no confirmation on whether the threats are connected.
We'll keep you updated on this developing story as we learn more.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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