LAPD responds to false active shooter report


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A false report of an active shooter on campus led officials from the Department of Public Safety and Los Angeles Police Department to arrive at Bovard Auditorium, the School of Cinematic Arts and Parkside Restaurant Sunday afternoon. The incident was prompted by miscommunication to the LAPD.

DPS confirmed all areas have been cleared.

The error occurred following an accident involving an employee at the dining hall.

“The employee at Parkside had a seizure, fell, hit his head, was bleeding and somehow from that — as people were told to move away and call for help — that evolved into a shots fired call,” DPS Captain Edgar Palmer said.

According to Palmer, a student ran onto Exposition Boulevard to inform an officer in the LAPD Transit Services Division of an alleged shooter on campus. The officer put out a call with the location of 3551 University Ave., which officers misinterpreted as Trousdale Parkway, leading them to report to Bovard Auditorium. No incident occurred at Bovard.

The only report received from Parkside was regarding the dining hall employee’s injury. The employee is now receiving medical attention after suffering a laceration due to his fall, Palmer said.

Emma Reynolds, a freshman majoring in neuroscience, was sitting outside the dining hall when she heard alerts of an active shooter.  

“I heard yelling coming from inside the dining hall, and I wasn’t really sure what was happening,” Reynolds said. “I looked out to see what was going on, and the women employees were coming out and one of them ran past me … An ambulance pulled out, then two policemen with rifles came … yelling at us to get out of the area.”

Reynolds said the miscommunication surrounding the false report made her feel uneasy.

“In the case there was a real shooter at Parkside, it is a little terrifying that they arrived at the wrong location,” Reynolds said. “They came quickly but people could have gotten hurt by then. There was so much miscommunication in the whole situation and that’s how it all got blown out of proportion.”

LAPD did not respond to multiple requests for comment.