Campus Alert Archive
LMC

Anonymous Active-Shooter Report Locks Down Los Medanos at Night

CAswattingemergency notificationmedium confidence
Confirmed HoaxDetermined to be a hoax. The institutional response is documented because it reveals how the alert system performed under a perceived real threat.

Los Medanos College went into lockdown after an anonymous active-shooter report at the Pittsburg campus. East County Today reported that District Police and Pittsburg Police swept the campus, found no evidence of a threat, and treated the incident as a false report.

Alerts
2
Response
—
Killed
0
Injured
0
Institution
Los Medanos College
Community College · CA
Contra Costa Community College District EMERAlert
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

2 messages in sequence · 2 verified verbatim

INITIAL ALERTSMS
Verified verbatimLMC Experience quoting the Contra Costa Community College District EMERAlert message172 chars
there was a report of an armed individual on campus. Police checking the area of the music building. No indication of shots fired. Remain in place until released by police.
The message balanced the worst-case premise with the important clarification that there was no indication of shots fired.
The lowercase opening is preserved exactly as published by the student newspaper.
ALL CLEARSMS+25 min
Verified verbatimLMC Experience quoting the Contra Costa Community College District EMERAlert all-clear208 chars
the shelter in place at Los Medanos College has been lifted. There is no threat or indications of an armed person or shooting on campus. Multiple police agencies are on location to insure your safe departure.
The all-clear directly negated both the armed-person and shooting elements of the original report.
The word 'insure' is preserved exactly from the quoted alert text.
Context

Background

The LMC case is a compact example of a nighttime active-shooter false report: student reporters captured the EMERAlert wording and the classroom-level response as police searched the music-building area. East County Today published the district police account, including the 9:42 p.m. shelter-in-place order and 10:07 p.m. lift time. The college community received a fast all-clear that explicitly ruled out an armed person or shooting.
Outcome
The shelter-in-place order lasted roughly 25 minutes and was lifted after police found no armed person, no shooting, and no evidence of a threat.
Provenance

Sources

  1. Student Paper
    LMC on lockdown
    lmcexperience.com
  2. News
    Contra Costa Community College District Police Determine No Threat at LMC Pittsburg Campus
    eastcountytoday.net
Tags
swattingactive-shooter-reportshelter-in-placecaliforniacommunity-collegeHoax
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion