Mistaken sighting of fired teacher puts H.B. High on lockdown for hours

Huntington Beach High School was put on lockdown Tuesday morning after someone mistaken for a fired employee was seen at the school.

Huntington Beach police received a call from the high school at about 8:30 a.m. regarding a person seen walking away from the campus. The man was thought to be a teacher who was fired last year and told not to return without telling the school in advance and signing in at the front office, police Officer Jennifer Marlatt said.

Police contacted the teacher at work in another city and determined that he was not at the school at the time of the report, Marlatt said. The teacher was not identified by the Huntington Beach Union High School District.

Before that, students were kept inside as a precaution while officers searched the campus several times.

The lockdown was lifted at about noon, school district officials said.

“The administration staff ensured we had people in place to assist with students who asked for assistance during this time,” Principal Daniel Morris wrote in a statement to parents Tuesday. “The Police Department and district office worked together to ensure all possibilities were thoroughly checked and followed up on.”