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<\/p>\nNews Brief<\/p>\n
Tuesday, February 10, 2026 \u2014 5:22 pm<\/p>\n
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An active-shooter threat tested the nerves and patience of students and faculty at CSU Bakersfield and Bakersfield College last week, prompting both campuses to enter lockdown.<\/p>\n
However, some students at CSUB said they did not receive the warning, leaving many confused and frightened; others said they were never updated on the situation.\u00a0<\/p>\n
On Feb. 2, CSUB police determined a call made to the student help center was a credible threat and initiated a lockdown, sending email and speaker alerts to the 10,000-plus student body.<\/p>\n
Sophomore Nelly Gonzalez at CSU Bakersfield was among her peers who received a notification while in class.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMy first thoughts were that it was a drill because I kind of looked around at my classmates, and no one else seemed to have been freaking out or looking at their phones to see that they got an alert,\u201d Gonzalez said. Shortly after another classmate confirmed receiving an email, the class immediately took cover. Gonzalez said they spent nearly 2 1\/2 hours waiting for an all-clear message from the school.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Students and staff at Bakersfield College, which has about 46,000 students, remained on lockdown for four hours before receiving an official email stating that the Bakersfield Police Department had cleared the campus.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sophomore Araceli Tovar said she and a group of other students stayed in a classroom without a professor, barricaded the doors and remained hidden.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI was walking down the hallway when I first got the alert,\u201d Tovar said. \u201cI went into my classroom, where there was only a couple of other students. \u2026 I was kind of nervous and worried about my other friends that had class that day too, but I texted them and made sure they were all OK.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tovar said that Bakersfield College, which is adjacent to CSUB, did well in sending initial alerts, but there was no follow-up on what happened.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAs we get information, we share that out with students and employees through a number of different mediums, and that includes information about what to do in whatever the situation is,\u201d Bakersfield College President Stacy Pfluger told 23ABC News in Bakersfield. \u201cSo when we provided the alert, we also provided instructions of what everyone needed to do.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
CSU police said this week that the threatening call came from out of state, according to 23ABC News.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Colleges nationwide have received swatting calls, which are hoaxes intended to trick law enforcement into responding to an active shooter-type incident or other dangerous situations.\u00a0<\/p>\n
CSUB Police Chief Maricela Gonzalez said a third-party vendor used by the university failed to properly process all names that should have been added to the emergency contact list, resulting in many not being notified of the threat. Breakdowns occur when users do not update systems with their new contact information, she said. Gonzalez didn\u2019t say how many did not receive the notification.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSo if you never go in there and update it \u2026 (emergency messages are) going to go to your old number,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
On Friday, the university police sent a test emergency notification to all students to ensure faster communication in the future. In addition, the university\u2019s information technology team has been reviewing its system and verifying that students and faculty are receiving notifications.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese lockdowns don\u2019t happen very often,\u201d Gonzalez said. \u201cIt\u2019s one of those things that we train (for), even though we know it\u2019s not a huge likelihood.\u201d She said that campus police officers regularly prepare for active-shooter incidents \u201cso that we\u2019re always ready.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI would encourage everyone,\u201d Gonzalez continued, \u201cwhenever there is any kind of training available \u2026 to attend those trainings.\u201d<\/p>\n
Samantha Trujillo is a sophomore communications major at Bakersfield College and a member of EdSource\u2019s California Student Journalism Corps.<\/a><\/p>\n More News Briefs <\/p>\n \n Tuesday, February 10, 2026, 9:52 am <\/p>\n District partners provide services as SFUSD teacher strike continues<\/a><\/p>\n \n Tuesday, February 10, 2026, 9:38 am <\/p>\n Watsonville teacher put on leave after social media post cheering ICE<\/a><\/p>\n \n Tuesday, February 10, 2026, 8:45 am <\/p>\n Teamsters, Cal State start fact-finding as February strike date nears<\/a><\/p>\n \n Monday, February 9, 2026, 10:19 am <\/p>\n