San Marcos High School was evacuated Tuesday afternoon while law enforcement investigated a safety threat, according to the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department.
Authorities said there was a report of a threat made to the school at about 1 p.m., prompting the school to be evacuated and nearby roads to be shut down.
By 4:30 p.m., San Marcos Unified School District confirmed that all 1,200 students and staff had been evacuated to San Marcos Middle School and were safe. Affected roads were reopened at that point.
SkyRanger 7 flew above the campus at about 2 p.m., and hundreds of students were sitting in a field away from buildings but still on campus. An hour later, the students were taken transported to San Marcos Middle School, where they were eventually released to a parent or guardian.
SDSO’s ASTREA helicopter was at the scene conducting a safety scan of the campus. Officials with the sheriff’s department said that at around 8 p.m. that they had conducted an extensive search of the campus that included the use of a K-9 unit but had not discovered any evidence of a threat to the school.
The incident prompted West San Marcos Boulevard to be shut down as authorities surveyed the area. Traffic was diverted onto South Rancho Santa Fe and Discovery Street until the road closure was lifted a few hours later.