Campus Alert Archive
APU

A Threat to 'Shoot Up' Neighboring Citrus College Locked Down Azusa Pacific Too

CAthreat of violenceemergency notificationmedium confidence
Confirmed Threat

On January 15, 2019, a 30-year-old Chino man's threat to "shoot up" Citrus College in Glendora prompted lockdowns at both Citrus College and nearby Azusa Pacific University. APU placed itself on lockdown at the school's discretion — not at police direction — and urged people on campus to shelter in place while investigators searched for the suspect. The suspect surrendered peacefully and was taken into custody around 3:42 p.m. PST without further incident.

Alerts
2
Response
—
Killed
—
Injured
—
Institution
Azusa Pacific University
Private Masters · CA
~6,272 studentsAPU Emergency Notification
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

2 messages in sequence · 1 verified verbatim

Some alert texts below are approximate reconstructions from news coverage, not confirmed verbatim transcripts. Reconstructed texts are shown in italic with a dashed border. Verified verbatim texts have a solid border and are marked accordingly.

INITIAL ALERTTwitter/X
Verified verbatimKTLA directly quoted the verbatim APU tweet; confirmed by KNX 1070 and Patch coverage quoting the same exact text206 chars
Please shelter-in-place. The campus is on lockdown. If you are on campus, please remain where you are. If off campus, please stay away from the area. Glendora PD is investigating a threat at Citrus College.
Verbatim text confirmed from APU's official Twitter account as quoted by KTLA, KNX 1070, and Patch: 'Please shelter-in-place. The campus is on lockdown. If you are on campus, please remain where you are. If off campus, please stay away from the area. Glendora PD is investigating a threat at Citrus College.'
APU's lockdown was triggered by a threat against neighboring Citrus College, illustrating how a threat to one institution can cascade to adjacent campuses.
The channel was Twitter/X: the tweet explicitly named 'Glendora PD' as investigating, linking APU's alert directly to the neighboring jurisdiction's response.
ALL CLEARSMS
Approximate reconstruction134 chars
APU Alert: The suspect is in custody and the lockdown is lifted. It is safe to resume normal activity. Thank you for your cooperation.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Reconstructed all-clear timed to the reported ~3:42 p.m. PST surrender; the exact APU lift-notification text was not quoted in available coverage.
This message qualifies as an all-clear because it explicitly lifts the lockdown after the suspect was taken into custody.
Context

Background

Azusa Pacific University is a private evangelical Christian university in Azusa, California, a few miles from Citrus College in Glendora. On January 15, 2019, a 30-year-old Chino man threatened to "shoot up" Citrus College, prompting lockdowns at both campuses as law enforcement searched the area. As NBC Los Angeles reported, APU's lockdown was self-initiated rather than ordered by police, and the suspect surrendered peacefully and was arrested around 3:42 p.m. The episode is a case study in regional threat spillover: a threat aimed at one San Gabriel Valley campus locked down a neighboring private university out of caution, with APU's published emergency procedures distinguishing shelter-in-place from full evacuation.
Analysis

Key Findings

APU locked down at its own discretion in response to a threat aimed at a different, neighboring institution (Citrus College)
The lockdown was not ordered by police, illustrating institutional judgment in regional threat spillover
The suspect surrendered peacefully and was arrested around 3:42 p.m. PST, after which both campuses lifted lockdowns
Outcome
The suspect surrendered and was arrested around 3:42 p.m. PST. No one was injured at either campus, and the lockdowns were lifted after the arrest.
Provenance

Sources

  1. News
    Student Arrested After Phone Threat Prompts Lockdowns at Citrus College, Azusa Pacific University - KTLA
    ktla.com
  2. News
    Threat Prompts Lockdowns at Citrus College, Azusa Pacific University - NBC Los Angeles
    nbclosangeles.com
  3. Official
    Detailed Emergency Procedures - Azusa Pacific University
    apu.edu
Tags
threat-of-violencelockdownshelter-in-placechristian-universitycaliforniaregional-spillover
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion