2 Schools Deemed Safe After Lockdown In Santa Clara

SANTA CLARA, CA — Two Santa Clara schools were placed on lockdown when a traffic stop led to a foot chase, the police department announced at 2:16 p.m. Thursday.

The county's Santa Clara County Specialized Enforcement Team conducted a midday traffic stop on Kieley Boulevard in the city, but the suspect ending up fleeing and leading police in pursuit.

Police officers helped the county enforcement team in apprehending the suspect — but not before putting a "shelter-in-place" on nearby Central Park Elementary and Santa Clara High schools. The concern was the suspect would "try to run toward the schools," Santa Clara Police Capt. Wahid Kazem told Patch.

The incident was resolved within 15 minutes.

"We shut them down in an abundance of caution," Kazem said.

The suspect's identity and the nature of the traffic stop are not known yet.

Police officers were in contact with staff at both schools during this incident and applaud their efforts to remain calm and follow the established shelter-in-place protocol while the matter was resolved.

All school activity has resumed as normal.

Nonetheless, Kazem confirmed officers were still on the scene for a few hours searching for contraband the suspect may have tossed in the incident. The investigation continues.