Man with a Gun Near Branham High School Prompts Shelter in Place

Four local schools including Branham High School had a "shelter in place" put on them after a man with a gun was seen nearby.

The initial call came in to San Jose Police at 1:52 p.m. and the caller said he had arrived at his truck and found two people going through the bed of this truck," said San Jose Police Sgt. Jason Dwyer. "He challenged them and one suspect pulled a handgun. They both fled."

The incident took place near 's Branham and two other elementaries: Reed and Hammer.

"We contacted the schools because they were in the near proximity," Dwyer said. "We didn’t want students to be walking around campus while we were looking for these suspects. It was a dynamic situation. We thought the guy was in the area. We had a helicopter there."

The shelter in place, which differs from a school lockdown in that the suspect is not on campus, was lifted at all the schools at approximately 3:00 p.m.

"After an hour or less, if we don’t find them, we reevaluate the situation," Dwyer said. "Either we continue or call it off, based on the information we have."

In this case, the search was called off and the case has been assigned to the assaults unit, which will investigate further.

These shelters in place are not uncommon, Dwyer said.

"The circumstances dictate," he said. "A lot of times it was a precaution."

Just today, he said there were four shelters in place called. Earlier this week Independence High School was put on lockdown because a student had brought an Airsoft pistol onto campus.

"Anytime something goes on near a school, we want to keep our schools safe," Dwyer said.