Campus Alert Archive
FC

A Reported Gunman Locked Down a Campus — He Had Two Water Guns

CAlockdownemergency notificationmedium confidence
UnfoundedNo evidence of an actual threat was found. The institutional response is documented because the alert communication is identical to what would occur during a real incident.

Fullerton College and the adjacent Fullerton Joint Union High School District offices were placed on lockdown on March 28, 2025, after a Fullerton PD school resource officer reported a man in a vehicle on Pomona Avenue who appeared to have grabbed a gun. After investigating, Fullerton police determined the man was a student carrying two water guns that were never brought onto campus, and the lockdown was lifted with no injuries.

Alerts
2
Response
—
Killed
—
Injured
—
Institution
Fullerton College
Community College · CA
~21,000 studentsFC Alert
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

2 messages in sequence

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 ALERTSMS
Approximate reconstruction141 chars
FC Alert: LOCKDOWN. Police activity near campus. Go inside the nearest building, lock doors, and stay away from windows until further notice.

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

Reconstructed: the student newspaper described a lockdown order but did not republish the verbatim alert text, so this is a paraphrase of the lockdown instruction and is marked isVerbatimConfirmed:false.
The lockdown covered both Fullerton College and the neighboring Fullerton Joint Union High School District because the reported vehicle was on Pomona Avenue between the two.
ALL CLEARSMS
Approximate reconstruction123 chars
FC Alert: ALL CLEAR. The lockdown has been lifted. Police confirmed there is no threat to campus. Normal operations resume.

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

Reconstructed all-clear: The Hornet reported the lockdown was lifted after Fullerton PD confirmed the suspect was carrying water guns off-campus, but did not quote the exact notification wording.
The all-clear distinguishes this message from sequence 1 because it explicitly lifts the lockdown rather than continuing the shelter instruction.
Context

Background

On Friday, March 28, 2025, a Fullerton Police Department school resource officer reported a man in a vehicle on Pomona Avenue — across from Fullerton Joint Union High School and adjacent to Fullerton College — who appeared to have grabbed a gun, prompting a lockdown on both campuses. According to The Hornet, Fullerton College's student newspaper, police later determined the man was a student carrying two water guns that were never brought onto campus, and the lockdown was lifted. The incident illustrates a recurring pattern at community colleges where realistic-looking toy or replica weapons trigger full emergency-notification lockdowns; KTLA reported a similar Orange County school lockdown caused by water-gun sightings. Fullerton College, which had run an active-shooter preparedness drill in 2024, used its FC Alert emergency notification system to push the lockdown and all-clear.
Analysis

Key Findings

A campus-wide lockdown was triggered by a report of a possible firearm that turned out to be two water guns never brought onto campus
The lockdown spanned both Fullerton College and the adjacent Fullerton Joint Union High School District because the reported vehicle sat between them on Pomona Avenue
No alert text was published verbatim, so both messages are honest reconstructions of the lockdown and all-clear instructions
Outcome
Fullerton PD confirmed the items were two water guns in the man's vehicle, never brought onto campus. No one was hurt and the lockdown was lifted.
Provenance

Sources

  1. Student Paper
    FC lifts lockdown, Fullerton PD confirms suspect carrying water guns off-campus
    fchornetmedia.com
  2. News
    Orange County high school lockdown was caused by water gun sightings, police say
    ktla.com
  3. Official
    Active Shooter Drill on April 11 to Help Test Emergency Preparedness
    news.fullcoll.edu
Tags
lockdownemergency-notificationcaliforniacommunity-collegewater-gununfoundedreplica-weaponUnfounded
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion