False Alarm Triggers Novato School Lockdown

NOVATO, CA — A Novato middle school was placed on lockdown this morning amid reports of gunshots fired, the Novato Police Department said.

Reports of gunshots in the area of the Sinaloa Middle School campus were first reported at 10:30 a.m., police said.

The shots were heard near campus located at 2045 Vineyard Road, not on school property, according to police.

A second witness reported that they believed the sounds were coming from a nearby construction site and that it was possibly a car backfiring, police said.

Sinaloa Middle School was immediately placed on a lockdown, police said.

Authorities immediately responded to the area and completed a walk-through at the school campus, police said.

An officer checking the 600 block of Wilson Avenue located a person who reported it was, in fact, their vehicle backfiring that caused the loud sounds, police said.

Officers determined there was no merit to gunshots being fired and students were cleared to return to class.

“We work in partnership with the Novato Unified School District to keep campuses safe for all students in Novato,” the NPD said in a statement.

“We appreciate our community alerting us to concerns that involve our schools. At this time, it was determined there was no threat to the school campus.”