2/11/2020 — Ukiah High School, Pomolita Middle School and Frank Zeek Elementary School were briefly placed on lockdown today for reasons unrelated to the school or any students. The cause of the lockdown was a law enforcement chase, in which the suspect fled into the hills west of Ukiah, and somewhat near these schools.
Both law enforcement and the District indicated that there was never any substantial risk to the students, and that, according to the Ukiah Unified School District’s Facebook page, they decided to lockdown those schools “out of an abundance of precaution.”
According to Captain Greg Van Patten of the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO), sheriff’s deputies were responding to a domestic violence call near Lovers Lane, which is outside of Ukiah city limits. Upon the arrival of law enforcement the male member of the pair alleged fled down Lovers Lane, and the Ukiah Police Department was called for assistance. The UPD found the car out in a vineyard and neighboring residents claimed to have seen the man running into the wooded areas in the western hills. From that location the suspect could have passed near any of those three schools.
The lockdown was lifted by about 12:20 p.m.
Below are the UUSD Facebook posts about the lockdown:
