Authorities obtained an emergency protective order Thursday against a man detained after he was spotted with an apparent weapon near a campus in unincorporated El Cajon.
Just before 3:30 p.m., the Sheriff’s communication center received a call about a man holding what seemed to be a gun in front of Hillsdale Middle School, the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.
Deputies from the Rancho San Diego Sheriff’s Station were given a description as they drove to the school and requested that the school be placed on lockdown.
Once they arrived, deputies found a man fitting the description outside campus and questioned him. They learned he was 46 years old and from La Mesa, but found the item he carried was not a firearm, but an airgun.
They determined he had not committed a crime and released him, while calling for the lockdown at Hillsdale to be lifted after about 15 minutes.
Deputies, though, while consulting with school staff and safety officers from the Cajon Valley Union School District, learned of what Sheriff’s officials called “previous negative encounters” with the La Mesa man.
As a result, they sought the emergency temporary protective order barring him from going near the school.
In addition, deputies will conduct extra patrols at the school on Friday.
Criminal or suspicious activity may be reported by calling the Sheriff’s Office at (858) 868-3200, or in the event of an emergency, 9-1-1.
