LA CONTENTA MIDDLE SCHOOL PLACED ON PRECAUTIONARY LOCKDOWN FOR SAFETY

Yucca Valley’s Contenta Middle School was placed on lockdown Friday while sheriff’s deputies combed the area looking for two escaped convicts. “We had sheriff’s deputies surrounding the school,” Garrett Gruwell, the school’s principal, said. “Even though the imminent danger wasn’t close, they wanted to make sure we felt safe.” The lockdown, which started at 1:30 p.m., lasted roughly an hour, according to Gruwell. Though he was told only that there was criminal activity in the vicinity of the nearby Walmart store, numerous other sources said it involved two convicts who had escaped from prison. One witness said she saw the suspects apprehended on Highway 62, though that couldn’t be confirmed. At no time were they on the campus nor were any children in danger. A spokesman for the sheriff’s department was not available for comment.