BUSD's 7 Schools On ‘Soft Lockdown’ Amid UC Berkeley Incident

BERKELEY, CA — The Berkeley Unified School District has put its seven schools under “soft lockdown” Thursday amid an unfolding UC Berkeley incident that triggered campus-wide shelter-in-place orders, BUSD Superintendent Brent Stephens said in a statement.

UC Berkeley has been under lockdown all day Thursday due to an unspecified emergency, campus police said.

Police said they’re seeking someone who “may want to harm specific individual.”

UC Berkeley has cancelled in-person classes and all campus activity for the rest of the day.

The BUSD announcement was first reported by Berkeleyside.

"During a soft lockdown, all doors and gates to a school are closed, administrators monitor all access to campus, and all staff are notified and asked to be extra vigilant about safety," Stephens said.

"During a soft lockdown students may still move between classes and activities as they normally would."

The BUSD’s soft lockdown means that people aren’t being allowed to enter or leave the district campuses.

The seven district schools are Berkeley High School, Berkeley Technology Academy, Willard Middle School, Emerson Elementary School, Sylvia Mendez Elementary School, Washington Elementary School and King Child Development Center.